THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


HISTORICAL    ROMANCES 
OF    FRANCE 

MADAME   THERESE 

OR 
THE     VOLUNTEERS     OF     '92 


HISTORICAL  ROMANCES  OF  FRANCE 


MADAME  THERESE 

OR 

THE     VOLUNTEERS     OF     »92 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  FRENCH  OF 

ERCKMANN-CHATRIAN 

ILLUSTRATED 


CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 
NEW    YORK:::::::::::::::::::::1911 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Madame  Therese Frontispiece 


FACING 
FAGZ 


M y  uncle  knelt  down 58 

"  Carry  arms  / " 110 

Battle  of  Froeschwiller 246 

At  last  I  saw  uncle  ;  he  was  mounted  on  Rappel  .     .     .  260 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

THE  public  interest  at  the  present  time  in  the 
classics  of  French  literature  is  sufficient,  in  the  pub- 
lishers' opinion,  to  warrant  the  issue  of  a  new  edition 
of  the  National  Novels  of  MM.  Erckmann-Cha- 
trian.  These  novels,  indeed,  belong  to  the  compara- 
tively small  number  of  literary  productions  of  first- 
rate  importance  in  their  special  sphere  which  can 
yet  be  transferred  from  one  language  to  another 
with  entire  adequacy.  They  lend  themselves  es- 
pecially to  the  English  idiom  because  their  color 
is  that  of  the  borderland  between  things  French  and 
things  German,  and  therefore  often  not  unlike  that 
of  much  English  literature  comparable  with  them. 
MM.  Erckmann-Chatrian  long  since  became  French 
classics.  Every  one  knows  their  Alsatian  ori- 
gin, the  peculiarly  racy  quality  of  both  their  style 
and  the  substance  it  clothes,  their  unique  position 
in  contemporary  French  literature,  their  long-con- 

vii 


viii  INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

tinued,  patient  and  finally  triumphant  struggle  to 
obtain  it.  But  the  cycle  of  stories  known  as  "  Ro- 
mans Nationaux,"  is  noteworthy  in  itself  and  of 
particular  interest  to  the  American  public  for  other 
and  more  significant  reasons  than  purely  literary  or 
romantic  ones. 

The  series  of  National  Novels,  indeed,  is  very 
much  more  than  a  series  of  simple  and  affecting  tales 
with  more  form  than  German  and  more  flavor  than 
French  stories  of  a  similar  sort.  It  comprises  six 
chapters  of  familiar  chronicle  of  the  most  valuable 
kind,  concerned  for  the  most  part  with  one  of  the 
most  interesting  epochs  of  history — that  of  the 
French  Revolution  and  the  First  Empire.  Each 
book  describes  public  events  of  the  first  importance 
from  the  stand-point  of  an  actor  in  them  and,  thus, 
together  they  give  one  a  picture  of  the  wars  of  the 
First  Republic  and  of  Napoleon  of  remarkable 
vividness  and  reality.  But  this  again  would  not 
make  the  series  as  noteworthy  as  it  is,  if  this  were 
its  sole  or  its  main  characteristic.  The  novels,  in 
fact,  are,  further,  so  many  historical  pictures  com- 
posed not  at  hap-hazard  nor  for  their  pictorial  value 
alone,  but  in  illustration  of  consistent  and  con- 
firmed principles  of  political  philosophy. 

In  these  novels  at  all  events  MM.  Erckmann- 


INTRODUCTORY   NOTE  k 

Chatrian  are  publicists  as  well  as  romancers. 
"  Madame  Therese,"  for  example,  preaches  elo- 
quently the  ardent  proselyting  republicanism  of 
1793.  "  The  Conscript "  shows  the  change  in  the 
popular  feeling  of  Europe  toward  France,  produced 
by  the  Napoleonic  conquests,  and  in  the  popular  feel- 
ing of  France  toward  Napoleon  by  the  constant 
state  of  warfare,  the  constant  call  for  men  and  the 
consequent  exhaustion  of  the  country.  "  The 
Plebiscite  "  is  a  scorching  exposure  of  the  hollow- 
ness,  corruption,  and  baseness  of  the  policy  responsi- 
ble for  the  disasters  of  1870-71.  Each  is  not  only 
a  vivid  picture,  that  is  to  say,  but  a  picture  with  a 
pregnant  moral.  Taken  as  a  whole  the  six  novels 
form  one  of  the  most  powerful  and  persuasive  pres- 
entations that  have  ever  been  made  of  French 
republicanism,  eulogizing  its  early  exaltation  and 
denouncing  with  equal  vigor  its  betrayal  by  the 
Bonapartes  and  the  open  antagonism  of  it  by  the 
Bourbons. 

Both  picture  and  lesson  are  especially  effective 
because  both  are  drawn  from  the  stand-point  as  well 
as  in  the  interest  of  the  people  rather  than  from  that 
of  the  literary  artist  or  the  impersonal  historian. 
Not  only  is  the  fictitious  narrator  in  each  case  an 
eye-witness  of  the  events  he  chronicles;  he  is  also  a 


x  INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

member  of  the  class  which  sees  the  most  of  war  and 
suffers  most  from  it.  In  "  Madame  Therese  "  it  is 
the  little  Fritzel  who  describes  the  effect  of  the  rev- 
olutionary rise  of  the  people  and  the  warlike  prop- 
agandism  of  the  gospel  of  liberty  and  fraternity. 
In  "The  Conscript  "  it  is  the  jeweller's  lame  appren- 
tice who  tells  the  story  of  the  ill-advised  and  ill- 
fated  Russian  expedition  and  of  the  subsequent  dis- 
asters of  the  campaign  of  1813.  In  "  The  Blockade 
of  Phalsbourg  "  it  is  the  shrewd  Jew  wine-seller  who 
narrates  the  hardships  of  the  memorable  siege.  In 
"  Waterloo,"  the  Conscript  of  two  years  before  is 
again  conscripted  and  relates  the  wide-spread  dis- 
content with  the  stupid  rule  of  the  restored  Bour- 
bons, the  ill-treatment  of  the  old  soldiers,  the  na- 
tional enthusiasm  over  the  return  from  Elba,  the 
national  depression  on  realizing  that  Napoleon's  re- 
accession  meant  perpetual  war,  the  dramatic  events 
of  the  Hundred  Days  and  their  crowning  catas- 
trophe. In  "  The  Plebiscite  "  it  is  a  miller,  the 
maire  of  his  Alsatian  village  and  a  type  of  the  mill- 
ions of  petites  gens  deceived  by  the  epigram  "  the 
Empire  is  peace,"  who  describes  the  cynical  policy 
of  Napoleon  III.'s  later  days  and  the  terrible  re- 
verses that  were  the  inevitable  consequence  of  bad 
faith  at  home  and  ignorance  of  the  situation  abroad. 


INTRODUCTORY   NOTE  xi 

We  learn  from  each  volume  how  the  people  felt, 
and  what  they  thought,  how  they  were  affected — 
benefited,  used,  betrayed,  in  succession — by  the 
great  changes  of  the  century  since  '89.  Historical 
archives,  in  consequence,  contain  no  more  important 
historic  testimony  than  this  fiction,  and  the  modern 
democratic  spirit  has  no  finer,  no  more  rational  and 
elevated  expression  than  it  obtains  in  these  stories. 

On  the  other  hand,  their  historic  worth  does  not 
at  all  obscure  the  literary  attractiveness  of  the  Na- 
tional Novels.  They  are  not  only  admirable  contri- 
butions to  familiar  history  of  a  most  convincing 
and  conclusive  sense  of  reality;  nor  are  they  merely 
besides  this  an  eloquent  exposition  of  the  people's 
gospel:  they  are,  in  the  same  rank  with  such  other 
works  of  their  authors  as  "  Friend  Fritz  "  and  "  The 
Polish  Jew,"  for  example,  literary  masterpieces  of 
a  very  high  order.  The  depiction  of  character  is 
very  sympathetic  and  very  telling.  Each  personage 
is  evidently  studied  from  the  life,  and  illustrates  a 
type  rather  than  an  exception.  The  color  of  each 
story  is  as  delightfully  harmonious  as  it  is  tenderly 
subdued.  The  sentiment — supplied  doubtless  by 
the  German  temperament  of  the  authors  in  more 
generous  measure  and  more  winning  way  than  are 
characteristic  of  most  French  literature  of  the  kind 


xii  INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

— is  qualified  and  refined  by  their  French  training 
and  literary  traditions,  with  the  result  of  a  very 
agreeable  compromise.  There  are  evidences  on 
every  page  of  a  simplicity  which  springs  from 
this  sane  and  contained  but  still  penetrating  senti- 
ment, and  which  is  an  infallible  mark  of  the  truest 
literary  distinction.  In  a  word,  the  novels  are 
marked  equally  by  heart  and  by  taste. 

The  narrative,  moreover,  is  always  admirably  in 
character.  The  lucrative  shrewdness  of  the  sharp 
Hebrew  speculator  in  "  The  Blockade  of  Phals- 
fcurg  "  is  not  dissembled;  the  unheroic  love  of  peace 
appears  as  prominent  in  the  Conscript  as  his  domes- 
ticity and  industry.  And,  through  a  similar  recti- 
tude of  literary  conscience,  there  is  a  very  note- 
worthy impartiality  shown  in  places  where  one 
might  reasonably  expect  in  a  "  national  novel "  the 
bias  of  patriotism.  The  Conscript  noting,  for  ex- 
ample, that  the  Prussians  at  Waterloo  "  kill  with- 
out mercy,"  immediately  adds,  "  just  as  we  did  at 
Ligny  " ;  and  no  opportunity  is  neglected  of  point- 
ing out  the  reasonableness  of  the  German,  Austrian, 
and  Cossack  retaliation  in  1813-14  for  the  French 
treatment  of  themselves  during  the  years  when  they 
were  the  conquered.  In  fine,  MM.  Erekmann-Cha- 
trian  have  more  respect  for  their  art  than  disposition 


INTRODUCTORY   NOTE  xiii 

to  appeal  to  the  sensibility  or  the  prejudice  of  their 
readers;  and  the  result,  of  course,  is  that  in  this 
way  the  effect  is  greatly  heightened,  and  that  both 
as  literature  and  as  history  the  absence  of  every 
meretricious  element  and  the  presence  of  an  absolute 
candor  cause  the  National  Novels  to  take  in  their 
field  the  very  highest  rank.  The  present  edition  can 
but  confer  a  public  service  in  contributing  to  a 
clearer  public  comprehension  of  a  great  movement 
by  a  great  people,  described  in  the  sympathetic  but 
impartial  terms  of  literary  artists  of  the  first  class. 

"  Madame  Therese  "  begins  the  series,  and  is  per- 
haps the  most  romantic.  The  scene  is  laid  in  a  little 
town  of  the  Vosges  which  witnesses  bloody  conflicts 
between  the  Republican  soldiers  and  the  Croats  and 
Cossacks  of  the  Allies  attacking  France  in  1793  in 
behalf  of  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbons.  It  is  an 
extraordinarily  vivid  picture  of  the  events  and  also 
of  the  popular  feeling  of  the  time.  Nowhere  is 
there  a  more  striking  presentation  of  the  way  in 
which  what  were  then  called  "  the  new  ideas  "  were 
disseminated  not  only  throughout  France,  but 
among  the  feudally  oppressed  of  contiguous  coun- 
tries. Nor  is  there  anywhere  else  a  more  sympa- 
thetic account  of  how  popular  and  universal  was  the 


xiv  INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

enthusiasm  which  filled  the  Frencn  armies  with 
volunteers  and  enabled  Carnot  to  "  organize  vic- 
tory." Madame  Therese  herself  is  a  cantiniere  of 
the  Republican  cohorts,  and  her  adventures  are  as 
entertaining  from  the  personal  and  human  point  of 
view  as  the  events  among  which  they  took  place  are 
historically  interesting. 


MADAME  THERfiSE 


WE  lived  in  profound  quiet  in  the  village  of  An- 
statt,  in  the  midst  of  the  German  Vosges, — my 
uncle,  Dr.  Jacob  Wagner,  his  old  servant  Lisbeth, 
and  I.  After  the  death  of  his  sister  Christine, 
Uncle  Jacob  had  taken  me  to  live  with  him.  I  was 
nearly  ten  years  old;  fair,  fresh  and  rosy  as  a 
cherub.  I  used  to  wear  a  cotton  cap,  a  little  brown 
velvet  jacket  made  of  a  pair  of  my  uncle's  old 
breeches,  gray  linen  pantaloons,  and  wooden  shoes 
adorned  on  the  top  by  a  tuft  of  wool. 

They  called  me  little  Fritzel  in  the  village,  and 
every  evening  when  Uncle  Jacob  returned  from  his 
visits  he  used  to  take  me  on  his  knee,  and  teach  me 
to  read,  in  French,  from  Buffon's  Natural  History. 

It  seems  to  me  as  if  I  were  still  in  our  low  room, 
with  its  ceiling  crossed  by  beams  blackened  with 
smoke.  I  see  on  my  left,  the  little  entry  door  and 
the  oaken  chest  of  drawers;  on  the  right,  the  alcove 


a  MADAME  THERESE 

closed  by  a  curtain  of  green  serge;  in  the  back  part 
of  the  room,  the  entrance  to  the  kitchen,  near  the 
cast-iron  stove,  with  heavy  mouldings  representing 
the  twelve  months  of  the  year;  and  toward  the 
street  the  two  little  windows,  hung  with  vine  leaves, 
that  opened  on  the  square  of  La  Fontaine. 

I  see  my  Uncle  Jacob  also,  a  slender  man,  his 
high  forehead  crowned  with  beautiful  fair  hair, 
which  clustered  gracefully  around  his  prominent 
temples, — his  nose  slightly  aquiline,  his  eyes  blue, 
with  a  chin  rounded,  and  lips  tender  and  kind.  He 
wears  black  frieze  breeches,  and  a  sky-blue  coat  with 
copper  buttons.  Seated  in  his  leathern  arm-chair, 
he  is  reading  with  his  elbows  on  the  table,  and  the 
sunlight  makes  the  shadows  of  the  vine  leaves  play 
upon  his  face,  which  is  somewhat  long,  and  tanned 
by  exposure. 

He  was  a  kind-hearted  man,  and  a  lover  of  peace; 
nearly  forty  years  old,  and  considered  the  best  phy- 
sician in  the  neighborhood.  I  have  learned  since, 
that  he  busied  himself  a  great  deal  in  theorizing 
about  universal  brotherhood,  and  that  the  bundle 
of  books  which  Fritz  the  carrier  brought  him  from 
time  to  time  treated  of  this  important  matter. 

All  this  I  see,  not  forgetting  Lisbeth,  a  good  old 
dame,  smiling  and  wrinkled,  in  a  blue  linen  short 


MADAME   THERESE  3 

gown  and  petticoat,  who  sits  in  a  corner  and  spins; 
nor  do  I  forget  the  cat  Roller,  who  dreams,  seated 
on  her  tail,  behind  the  stove,  her  great  yellow  eyes 
opened  in  the  gloom  like  an  owl's. 

It  seems  to  me  that  I  have  only  to  cross  the  lane 
to  slip  into  the  orchard,  with  its  delicious  fragrance; 
only  to  climb  the  wooden  staircase  to  reach  my  room 
where  I  let  loose  the  tomtits  that  Hans  Aden  the 
shoemaker's  son,  and  I,  had  caught  in  snares. 
Some  were  blue  and  some  were  green.  Little  Eliza 
Meyer,  the  burgomaster's  daughter,  often  came  to 
see  them  and  to  ask  me  about  them.  When  Hans 
Aden,  Ludwig,  Frantz  Sepel,  Karl  Stenger  and  I 
led  the  cows  and  goats  to  pasture,  on  the  Birkenwald 
hill,  Eliza  always  pulled  my  jacket  and  said: 

"  Fritzel,  let  me  lead  your  cow — don't  send  me 
off." 

And  I  would  give  her  my  whip,  and  we  would 
make  a  fire  on  the  turf  and  roast  potatoes  in  the 
ashes.  Oh,  the  good  old  times!  How  calm,  how 
peaceful  was  everything  around  us!  How  regu- 
larly all  went  on!  Nothing  disturbed  our  quiet 
Monday,  Tuesday,  "Wednesday;  every  day  of  the 
week  passed  exactly  like  every  other  day. 

Every  day  we  rose  at  the  same  hour,  dressed,  and 
sat  down  to  the  good  porridge  prepared  by  Lisbeth. 


4  MADAME   TH^RESE 

Then  my  uncle  went  away  on  horseback,  and  I 
went  out  to  set  traps  and  snares  for  the  thrushes, 
sparrows,  or  greenfinches, — according  to  the  season. 
At  noon  we  met  again,  and  for  dinner  had  bacon 
and  cabbage  and  noudels  or  Jcncepfels.  After  din- 
ner I  went  to  the  pasture  to  look  after  my  traps,  or 
to  bathe  in  the  Queich  when  it  was  warm.  In  the 
evening  we  had  good  appetites,  and  at  the  table 
thanked  God  for  his  goodness.  Every  day,  when 
supper  was  nearly  over,  and  it  began  to  grow  dark 
in  the  room,  a  heavy  step  crossed  the  passage,  the 
door  opened,  and  on  the  threshold  appeared  a  short, 
thick,  squarely-built,  broad-shouldered  man,  wear- 
ing a  large  felt  hat. 

"  Good-evening,  doctor." 

"  Be  seated,  mole-catcher,"  my  uncle  would  reply. 
"  Lisbeth,  open  the  kitchen  door." 

Lisbeth  pushed  open  the  door,  and  the  red  flame 
dancing  on  the  hearth  showed  us  the  mole-catcher 
standing  opposite  the  table,  watching  our  supper 
with  his  little  gray  eyes.  He  looked  just  like  a 
field-rat  with  his  long  nose,  small  mouth,  retreating 
chin,  straight  ears,  and  thin,  bristling,  yellow  mous- 
tache. His  gray  linen  frock  only  reached  partly 
down  his  back,  and  his  great  red  waistcoat  with  deep 
pockets  hung  loosely  over  his  hips.  His  immense 


MADAME   THERESE  5 

shoes,  covered  with  yellow  earth,  had  large  nails  in 
them,  which  looked  in  front  like  shining  claws  all 
around  his  thick  soles. 

He  looked  fifty  years  old;  his  hair  was  turning 
gray,  his  ruddy  forehead  was  deeply  wrinkled,  and 
his  eyebrows,  white  with  streaks  of  yellow,  hung 
over  his  eyes. 

He  was  always  in  the  fields,  setting  his  traps,  or 
at  the  door  of  his  apiary  on  the  hill-side  in  the 
heath  of  the  Birkenwald,  with  his  wire  mask  and 
great  linen  mittens,  and  the  broad  sharp-edged 
spoon  with  which  he  took  the  honey  from  the 
hives.  At  the  close  of  autumn  he  would  leave  the 
village  for  a  month,  his  wallet  on  his  back,  a  large 
pot  of  honey  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  cakes  of 
yellow  wax  which  he  sold  to  the  clergy  in  the 
neighborhood,  for  their  wax  tapers.  Such  was  the 
mole-catcher. 

After  looking  steadily  at  the  table  for  a  time,  he 
would  say,  "  There  is  cheese — and  there  are  nuts." 

"  Yes,"  my  uncle  would  answer,  "  at  your  ser- 
vice." 

"  Thanks!  I  would  rather  smoke  my  pipe  now." 
Then  he  would  draw  from  his  pocket  a  black  pipe 
with  a  copper  lid  and  chain  attached;  fill  it  with 
care, — still  looking  at  us, — go  into  the  kitchen, 


6  MADAME  THERESE 

take  a  burning  coal  in  the  hollow  of  his  hard  hand, 
and  place  it  on  the  tobacco.  I  see  him,  now,  with 
his  rat-like  face,  his  nose  upturned,  blowing  great 
puffs  before  the  gloomy  fire-place,  then  coming 
back  and  seating  himself  in  the  shadow  at  the  cor- 
ner of  the  stove,  with  his  legs  crossed.  Besides 
moles  and  bees,  honey  and  wax,  the  mole-catcher 
had  another  serious  occupation: — he  predicted  the 
future  by  means  of  the  flight  of  birds,  the  abun- 
dance of  grasshoppers  and  caterpillars,  and  certain 
traditions  inscribed  in  a  large  book  with  wooden 
covers  which  he  had  inherited  from  an  old  aunt  in 
Heming,  and  which  informed  him  of  future  events. 
But  he  would  not  enter  upon  the  subject  unless 
Koffel  were  present, — Koffel  the  joiner,  the  turner, 
the  watchmaker,  the  shearer  of  dogs,  and  healer  of 
animals; — in  short,  the  finest  genius  of  Anstatt,  and 
the  neighborhood.  Koffel  was  a  Jack  of  all  trades. 
He  wired  broken  crockery,  tinned  saucepans,  re- 
paired damaged  furniture,  and  even  the  organ,  when 
the  pipes  or  bellows  were  out  of  order;  and  Uncle 
Jacob  had  been  obliged  to  forbid  his  setting  broken 
arms  and  legs,  for  he  had  also  a  talent  for  surgery, 
he  thought.  The  mole-catcher  admired  him  very 
much,  sometimes  saying,  "  What  a  shame  that  Kof- 
fel has  not  studied !  What  a  shame !  "  And 


MADAME   THERESE  7 

all  the  gossips  in  the  place  thought  him  a  universal 
genius.  But  all  this  did  not  "  make  the  pot  boil," 
and  the  surest  of  his  resources  after  all  was  to  cut 
cabbage  for  sour-krout  in  autumn,  carrying  his  tool- 
chest  on  his  back  wallet-fashion,  and  crying  from 
door  to  door,  "Any  cabbage?  Any  cabbage?  " 

Such  is  the  fate  of  genius.  Koffel,  diminutive, 
meagre,  with  his  black  beard  and  hair,  and  his 
sharp  nose  pointed  like  the  beak  of  a  teal,  was  not 
long  in  coming — his  hands  in  the  pockets  of  his 
little  short  jacket,  a  cotton  cap  far  back  on  his  head, 
with  the  point  between  his  shoulders,  and  his 
breeches  and  coarse  blue  stockings  spotted  with 
glue,  hanging  loosely  on  his  thin  wiry  legs,  his  old 
shoes  cut  in  several  places  to  make  room  for  his 
bunions.  He  came  in  a  few  minutes  after  the  mole- 
catcher,  and  approaching  the  table  with  short  steps, 
said  gravely: 

"  A  good  appetite  to  you,  doctor." 

"  Will  you  not  share  our  meal  with  us? "  asked 
my  uncle. 

"  Many  thanks.  We  had  salad,  to-night;  that  is 
what  I  like  best." 

Saying  this,  Koifel  would  seat  himself  behind  the 
stove,  and  never  stir  until  my  uncle  said,  "  Light 
the  candle,  Lisbeth,  and  take  away  the  cloth." 


8  MADAME  THERESE 

Then  he  filled  his  pipe  in  his  turn,  and  drew  near 
the  stove.  They  talked  of  the  weather,  the  crops, 
etc.  The  mole-catcher  had  set  so  many  traps  that 
day,  had  turned  off  the  water  from  such  a  meadow 
during  the  storm,  or  else  he  had  taken  so  much 
honey  from  the  hives;  the  bees  would  soon  swarm; 
they  were  getting  ready,  and  he  was  preparing  be- 
forehand baskets  to  receive  the  young. 

Koffel  was  always  pondering  over  some  inven- 
tion; he  told  of  his  clock  without  weights,  from 
which  the  twelve  apostles  would  come  out  at  the 
stroke  of  noon,  while  the  cock  crowed,  and  death 
mowed  with  his  scythe;  or  of  his  plough,  which 
would  go  alone,  wound  up  like  a  clock,  or  some 
other  wonderful  discovery.  My  uncle  would  listen 
gravely,  nodding  his  head  in  approval,  but  think- 
ing meanwhile  of  his  patients.  In  summer,  the 
women  of  the  neighborhood,  seated  on  the  stone 
bench  under  the  open  windows,  chatted  with  Lis- 
beth  about  household  matters.  One  had  woven  so 
many  yards  of  linen  in  the  winter;  the  hens  of 
another  had  laid  so  many  eggs  that  day,  and  so 
on. 

f".  For  myself,  I  seized  a  favorable  moment  to  run 
off  to  Klipfel's  forge,  whose  fire  shone  far  off,  at 
night,  at  the  end  of  the  village.  There  I  always 


MADAME   THERESE  9 

met  Hans  Aden,  Frantz  Sepel  and  several  others. 
We  watched  the  sparks  flying  from  the  heated  iron 
under  the  strokes  of  the  hammer;  we  whistled 
to  the  sound  of  the  anvil.  If  a  quiet  old  horse  came 
to  be  shod,  we  helped  to  hold  up  his  leg.  Some  of 
the  older  boys  made  themselves  sick  trying  to  smoke 
walnut  leaves.  Others  boasted  of  going  every  Sun- 
day to  the  dance.  These  were  fifteen  or  sixteen 
years  old.  They  wore  their  hats  on  one  side,  and 
smoked  with  an  important  air,  with  their  hands 
deep  down  in  their  pockets.  At  ten  o'clock  we 
separated,  and  everybody  went  home.  Most  days 
passed  thus,  but  Mondays  and  Fridays,  the  Frank- 
fort Gazette  came,  and  then  the  gatherings  at  our 
house  were  large.  Besides  the  mole-catcher  and 
Koffel  came  our  burgomaster  Christian  Meyer,  and 
M.  Karolus  Richter,  the  grandson  of  an  old  valet 
of  Count  Salm-Salm's.  None  of  these  people  would 
subscribe  for  the  Gazette,  but  they  liked  to  hear  it 
read  for  nothing. 

How  often  since  then  I  have  called  to  mind  the 
burly  burgomaster,  with  his  red  ears,  wearing  a 
woollen  jacket  and  cotton  nightcap,  sitting  in  the 
arm-chair — my  uncle's  accustomed  seat.  He 
seemed  to  be  thinking  profoundly,  but  was  really 
intent  upon  remembering  the  news  to  impart  to  his 


10  MADAME   THERESE 

wife,  the  excellent  Barbara,  who  ruled  the  parish 
in  his  name.  And  the  great  Karolus,  a  sort  of  grey- 
hound in  hunting-coat  and  cap  of  boiled  leather,  the 
greatest  usurer  in  the  country,  who  looked  down 
upon  all  the  peasants  from  the  height  of  his 
grandeur  because  his  grandfather  had  been  a  lackey 
of  Salm-Salm;  who  thought  he  did  you  a  great 
favor  in  smoking  your  tobacco,  and  talked  inces- 
santly of  parks  and  preserves,  great  hunts  and  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  my  Lord  Salm-Salm.  How 
many  times  have  I  seen  him  in  my  dreams,  march- 
ing up  and  down  our  room,  listening,  frowning,  sud- 
denly plunging  his  hand  into  the  great  pocket  of  my 
uncle's  coat,  for  his  tobacco,  filling  his  pipe,  and 
lighting  it  at  the  candle,  saying,  "  By  your  leave." 
All  these  things  I  see  again. 

Poor  Uncle  Jacob!  how  good-natured  he  was  to 
let  his  tobacco  be  smoked!  But  he  paid  no  atten- 
tion, apparently,  so  absorbed  was  he  in  the  day's 
news.  The  Republicans  were  invading  the  Palati- 
nate; were  descending  the  Rhine.  They  dared  to 
defy  the  three  Electors,  King  "William  of  Prussia, 
and  the  Emperor  Joseph.  Their  audacity  aston- 
ished our  circle.  M.  Richter  said  this  state  of  things 
could  not  last;  these  wicked  beggars  would  be  ex- 
terminated to  the  last  man.  "When  my  uncle  fin- 


MADAME   THERESE  XI 

ished,  he  would  make  some  judicious  reflection.  Aa 
he  refolded  the  paper  he  would  say : 

"  Let  us  thank  God  that  we  live  in  the  midst  of 
the  forest  rather  than  in  the  vineyards — on  the 
bleak  mountain  rather  than  in  the  fertile  plain. 
These  Republicans  can  hope  for  no  plunder  here, 
this  is  our  security.  We  can  sleep  in  peace.  But 
how  many  are  exposed  to  their  ravages!  They  do 
everything  by  force;  but  no  good  ever  comes  of 
force.  They  talk  to  us  of  love,  equality  and  lib- 
erty, but  they  do  not  apply  these  principles.  They 
trust  to  their  arms,  and  not  to  the  justice  of  their 
cause.  Long  ago,  before  their  time,  others  came 
to  deliver  the  world.  They  struck  no  blows,  they 
took  no  lives,  they  died  by  thousands,  and  their 
symbol  in  all  succeeding  ages  has  been  the  lamb, 
devoured  by  wolves.  One  would  think  that  not 
even  a  single  memorial  of  these  men  would  remain. 
"Well,  they  conquered  the  world;  they  conquered 
not  the  body,  but  the  soul  of  man.  And  the  soul 
is  all.  Why  do  not  these  men  follow  their  exam- 
ple?" 

Karolus  Bichter  immediately  rejoined,  with  a 
contemptuous  air: 

"  Why?  because  they  laugh  at  souls  and  envy 
the  powerful  of  the  earth.  And  besides,  these  Re- 


12  MADAME  THERESE 

publicans  are  atheists,  every  man  of  them.  They 
respect  neither  throne  nor  altar.  They  have  over- 
turned the  established  order  of  things  from  the 
beginning  of  time.  They  will  have  no  more  nobil- 
ity; as  if  the  nobility  were  not  the  very  essence 
of  things  on  earth  and  in  heaven;  as  if  it  were 
not  acknowledged  by  mankind  that  some  were  born 
to  be  slaves  and  others  to  be  rulers;  as  if  we  did 
not  see  this  order  established  even  in  nature.  The 
mosses  are  beneath  the  grass,  the  grass  beneath  the 
bushes,  the  bushes  beneath  the  trees,  and  the  trees 
beneath  the  starry  sky.  Just  so  are  the  peasants 
under  the  merchants,  the  merchants  under  the 
gownsmen,  the  gownsmen  under  the  military  nobles, 
the  military  nobles  under  the  king,  the  king  under 
the  pope,  represented  by  his  cardinals,  archbishops, 
and  bishops.  This  is  the  natural  order  of  things. 
A  thistle  can  never  grow  to  the  height  of  an  oak;  a 
peasant  can  never  wield  the  sword  like  the  descen- 
dant of  an  illustrious  race  of  warriors.  These  Re- 
publicans have  obtained  transient  success,  because 
they  have  surprised  everybody  by  their  incredible 
audacity  and  their  want  of  common  sense.  In 
denying  all  doctrines  and  all  acknowledged  rules, 
they  have  stupefied  reasonable  men — hence  these 
disorders.  Just  as  sometimes  an  ox  or  a  bull  stops 


MADAME   THERESE  13 

suddenly,  then  flies  at  the  sight  of  a  rat  which  un- 
expectedly comes  up  from  the  ground  before  him, 
so  are  our  soldiers  astounded  and  even  put  to  flight 
by  such  audacity.  But  this  cannot  last,  and  after 
the  first  surprise  is  over,  I  am  very  sure  that  our  old 
generals  of  the  Seven  Years  War  will  defeat  ut- 
terly this  disorderly  crowd  of  wretches,  and  that  not 
one  of  them  will  return  to  his  unfortunate  country." 

Having  said  this,  M.  Karolus  relighted  his  pipe, 
and  continued  his  walk  up  and  down  with  long 
strides,  his  hands  behind  him,  and  a  self-satisfied 
air. 

All  reflected  upon  what  they  had  just  heard,  and 
the  mole-catcher  finally  spoke  in  his  turn. 

"  All  that  ought  to  happen,  happens,"  said  he. 
"  Since  these  Republicans  have  driven  away  their 
lords  and  their  priests,  it  was  so  ordained  in  heaven 
from  the  beginning  of  time ;  '  God  willed  it.'  Now, 
whether  they  return  or  not  depends  upon  what  the 
Lord  God  wills.  If  He  chooses  to  raise  the  dead, 
that  depends  on  Him  alone.  But  last  year,  as  I 
watched  my  bees  working,  I  saw,  all  of  a  sudden, 
these  little  gentle  and  pretty  creatures  fall  upon 
the  drones,  sting  them  and  drag  them  out  of  the  hive. 
These  drones  produce  the  young,  and  the  bees  keep 
them  so  long  as  the  hive  needs  them,  but  then  they 


14  MADAME   THERESE 

kill  them.  It  is  abominable;  but  nevertheless  it  is 
written!  Seeing  this,  I  thought  of  these  Republi- 
cans. They  are  disposed  to  kill  their  drones  ;  but 
be  tranquil;  we  can't  live  without  them;  others  will 
come.  They  must  be  feathered  and  fed  anew;  after 
that  the  bees  will  get  angry  again,  and  kill  them  by 
hundreds.  We  think  they  are  exterminated,  but 
more  will  come,  and  so  it  goes  on.  It  must  be  so! 
It  must  be  so !  " 

Then  the  mole-catcher  shook  his  head,  and  M. 
Karolus,  stopping  in  the  midst  of  his  walk,  cried: 

"  Whom  do  you  call  drones?  The  true  drones 
are  the  conceited  reptiles,  who  believe  themselves 
capable  of  anything,  and  not  the  nobles  and  priests." 

"  Begging  your  pardon,  M.  Richter,"  replied  the 
mole-catcher,  "  the  drones  are  those  who  wish  to  do 
nothing  and  to  enjoy  everything;  those  who,  with- 
out rendering  any  service  except  buzzing  around  the 
queen,  wish  to  be  generously  provided  for.  They 
are  cared  for,  but  at  last,  it  is  written,  they  must 
be  cast  out.  It  has  happened  thousands  of  times  and 
it  must  happen  always.  The  working  bees,  orderly 
and  economical,  cannot  support  creatures  that  are 
good  for  nothing.  It  is  unfortunate — it  is  sad. 
But  so  it  is.  When  we  make  honey  we  like  to  keep 
it  for  ourselves. 


MADAME   THERESE  15 

"  You  are  a  Jacobin !  "  cried  Karolus,  angrily. 

"  No,  on  the  contrary,  I  am  a  merchant  of  An- 
statt,  a  mole-catcher  and  raiser  of  bees.  I  love  my 
country  as  well  as  you.  I  would  sacrifice  myself  for 
her,  perhaps,  sooner  than  you  would.  But  I  am 
forced  to  say  that  the  true  drones  are  those  who  do 
nothing,  and  the  true  bees  those  who  work,  for  I 
have  seen  it  a  hundred  times." 

"  Ah,"  cried  Karolus  Kichter,  "  I  wager  that 
Koffel  has  the  same  ideas  as  you!  " 

Then  the  little  joiner,  who  had  said  nothing,  re- 
plied, winking  one  eye: 

"  M.  Karolus,  if  I  had  the  happiness  of  being 
the  grandson  of  a  servant  of  Yeri-Peter  or  Salm- 
Salm,  and  if  I  had  inherited  great  wealth  which 
would  support  me  in  abundance  and  idleness,  then 
I  should  say  that  the  drones  are  the  workers,  and 
the  bees  the  lazy  ones.  But,  situated  as  I  am,  I  have 
need  of  everybody's  help,  and  so  I  say  nothing.  I 
am  silent.  Only  I  think  that  every  one  ought  to 
have  what  he  earns  by  his  labor." 

"  My  dear  friends,"  said  my  uncle,  gravely,  "  we 
will  not  speak  of  these  things,  for  we  cannot  under- 
stand them.  Peace!  peace!  that  is  what  we  must 
have.  It  is  peace  that  makes  men  prosper,  and  puts 
them  all  in  their  true  place.  In  war  bad  instincts 


16  MADAME   THERESE 

prevail;  murder,  rapine,  and  the  rest.  Besides,  all 
men  who  lead  bad  lives  love  war;  it  is  the  only  way 
they  can  appear  to  be  anything.  In  time  of  peace, 
they  would  be  nothing;  we  would  see  too  easily 
through  their  thoughts,  their  tricks  and  their  de- 
sires. Man  has  been  created  by  God  for  peace,  for 
labor,  the  love  of  his  family,  and  the  like.  But  since 
war  opposes  all  these  it  is  truly  a  scourge.  The 
clock  has  struck  ten;  we  could  discuss  the  subject 
until  to-morrow  morning  without  understanding  it 
better.  I  propose,  therefore,  that  we  go  to  bed." 

Then  everybody  rose,  and  the  burgomaster,  plac- 
ing his  two  great  hands  on  the  arm  of  his  chair, 
cried: 

"  God  grant  that  neither  the  Republicans,  nor 
Prussians,  nor  Imperialists  pass  through  here,  for 
they  are  all  hungry  and  thirsty.  And  as  it  is  more 
agreeable  to  drink  our  own  wine  than  to  see  it 
swallowed  by  others,  I  would  rather  learn  these 
things  from  the  papers  than  see  them  with  my  own 
eyes.  That  is  what  I  think." 

"With  this  remark,  he  moved  toward  the  door; 
the  others  followed. 

"  Good-night,"  said  my  nncle. 

"  Good-night,"  replied  the  mole-catcher,  disap* 
pearing  in  the  dark  street. 


MADAME   THERESE  17 

The  door  was  closed,  and  my  careful  uncle  said 
to  me: 

"  Go  to  bed,  Fritzel.    Pleasant  dreams." 

"  And  you,  too,  uncle,"  I  answered. 

Lisbeth  and  I  mounted  the  staircase.  A  quarter 
of  an  hour  afterwards  perfect  silence  reigned  in  the 
house. 


II 

ONE  Friday  evening,  in  the  month  of  November, 
1793,  Lisbeth,  after  supper,  was  kneading  the 
dough  to  make  bread  for  the  household,  as  usual. 
As  it  was  to  be  used  for  cakes  and  apple-pies  also, 
I  kept  near  her  in  the  kitchen,  and  as  I  watched  her, 
gave  myself  up  to  the  pleasantest  dreams.  When 
the  dough  was  kneaded  yeast  was  added,  the  knead- 
ing-trough carefully  scraped,  and  a  thick  covering 
was  spread  over  it,  to  let  it  ferment.  Then  Lisbeth 
scattered  blazing  coals  from  the  hearth  inside  the 
oven,  and  pushed  into  it  with  the  poker  three  great 
dry  fagots,  which  soon  began  to  blaze  under  the  dark 
vaulted  roof.  Finally,  when  the  fire  was  lighted, 
she  closed  the  door  of  the  oven  and  turned  to  me : 

"  Now,  Fritzel,  let  us  go  to  bed;  to-morrow, 
when  you  wake  up,  there  will  be  a  pie  for  you." 

We  went  up  to  our  rooms.  Uncle  Jacob  had 
been  snoring  for  an  hour  in  his  alcove.  I  went 
to  bed  thinking  of  pies  and  cakes,  and  fell  sound 
asleep  immediately.  I  had  slept  for  some  hours, 

18 


MADAME  THERESE  19 

but  it  was  still  night,  and  the  moon  was  shining 
brightly  into  my  little  window,  when  I  was  aroused 
by  a  strange  tumult.  It  seemed  as  if  the  whole  vil- 
lage were  in  commotion;  doors  were  slamming  in 
the  distance;  many  footsteps  were  splashing 
through  the  muddy  pools  of  the  street;  and  I 
heard,  too,  people  moving  about  in  our  house,  and 
saw  the  purple  reflection  of  lights  on  my  window- 
panes.  My  alarm  may  be  imagined.  After  listen- 
ing awhile,  I  got  quietly  up,  and  opened  a  window. 
The  street  was  full  of  people,  and  not  only  the  street 
but  the  garden,  and  by-streets.  I  saw  only  large 
men  with  immense  cocked  hats,  long  blue  coats  with 
red  facings,  wide  white  belts,  and  large  queues 
hanging  down  their  backs,  carrying  sabres  and 
cartridge-boxes,  which  I  had  never  seen  before. 
They  had  stacked  their  guns  before  our  barn.  Two 
sentinels  guarded  them.  The  others  had  already 
made  themselves  at  home  in  the  houses.  In  the 
stable  three  horses  pawed  the  ground.  Before 
Sepel's  butcher  shop,  across  the  way,  from  the 
hooks  in  the  wall  on  which  calves  were  hung  to  be 
skinned,  a  whole  ox  was  hanging, — his  head  and 
back  dragging  on  the  ground, — in  the  blaze  of  a 
great  fire  which  lighted  up  the  square.  A  man  with 
his  shirt-sleeves  rolled  up  over  his  brawny  arms  was 


20  MADAME   THERESE 

skinning  him.  He  had  cut  him  entirely  open,  and 
the  blood  was  running  and  mixing  with  the  mire 
of  the  street.  The  face  of  this  man,  with  his  bare 
throat  and  unkempt  hair,  was  terrible  to  see. 

I  understood  at  once  that  the  Republicans  had 
unexpectedly  entered  the  village,  and  while  I  was 
dressing  I  invoked  the  aid  of  the  Emperor  Joseph, 
of  whom  M.  Karolus  Richter  so  often  spoke.  The 
French  had  arrived  during  our  first  sleep,  at  least 
two  hours  before;  for  as  I  went  down  stairs  I  saw 
three  of  them,  in  their  shirt-sleeves,  like  the  butcher, 
taking  the  bread  from  our  oven  with  the  shovel. 
They  had  spared  Lisbeth  the  trouble  of  baking,  as 
their  companions  had  spared  Sepel  the  trouble  of 
butchering.  These  men  could  do  anything.  Noth- 
ing embarrassed  them.  Lisbeth,  seated  in  a  corner, 
her  hands  crossed  on  her  knees,  watched  them  quite 
peacefully.  Her  first  terror  was  over.  Seeing  me 
at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  she  called  out : 

"  Fritzel,  come  down.  They  will  not  hurt  you." 
Then  I  went  down,  and  the  men  kept  at  their 
work  without  noticing  me.  The  passage-door  on 
the  left  was  open,  and  I  saw  two  more  Republicans 
in  the  orchard  mixing  dough  for  a  second  or  third 
batch  of  bread.  Through  the  half -open  door  of  the 
sitting-room,  on  the  right,  I  saw  Uncle  Jacob  sitting 


MADAME  THERESE  21 

at  the  table,  while  a  robust  man,  with  large  red 
whiskers,  pug  nose,  projecting  eyebrows,  ears  stand- 
ing out  from  his  head,  and  a  tow-colored  wig  hang- 
ing down  his  back  in  a  queue  as  thick  as  one's  arm, 
was  installed  in  the  arm-chair,  devouring  one  of  our 
hams  with  evident  relish.  I  could  see  his  strong 
brown  hands  plying  the  knife  and  fork,  and  his 
muscular  jaws  moving.  From  time  to  time  he  raised 
his  glass,  took  a  good  draught,  and  went  on. 

He  wore  lead-colored  epaulettes,  a  large  sabre,  in 
a  leathern  sheath,  whose  guard  rose  behind  his  el- 
bow, and  boots  which  were  hardly  visible  for  the 
yellow  mud  which  was  beginning  to  dry  upon  them. 
From  his  hat  on  the  sideboard,  drooped  red  plumes 
which  waved  in  the  wind ;  for  notwithstanding  the 
cold,  the  windows  were  wide  open.  An  armed  sen- 
tinel paced  up  and  down  before  them,  stopping  oc- 
casionally to  glance  at  the  table. 

While  carving  the  ham  the  man  with  large  whis- 
kers spoke  roughly  to  my  uncle. 

"  So  you  are  a  physician?  " 

"  Yes,  monsieur  le  commandant." 

"  Call  me  simply  colonel,  or  citizen  colonel.  I 
have  already  told  you  that  '  monsieur '  and  '  ma- 
dame  '  are  out  of  fashion.  But  to  return  to  our 
subject.  You  ought  to  know  the  country;  a  coun- 


22  MADAME  THERESE 

try  physician  is  always  on  the  road.  How  far  are 
we  from  Kaiserslautern? " 

"  Seven  leagues,  Colonel." 

"  And  from  Pirmasens?  " 

"  About  eight." 

"  And  from  Landau?  " 

"  Five  good  leagues,  I  believe." 

"  '  I  believe  ' — '  nearly  ' — '  about ' — is  it  thus  a 
native  of  the  country  ought  to  speak?  Listen:  you 
look  as  if  you  were  afraid.  You  are  afraid  that  if 
the  white  coats  should  come  this  way,  they  would 
hang  you  for  the  information  you  give  us.  You 
may  put  that  idea  out  of  your  head ;  you  are  under 
the  protection  of  the  French  Republic."  And 
looking  Uncle  Jacob  in  the  face  with  his  gray  eyes : 
"  To  the  health  of  the  Republic,  one  and  indivisi- 
ble !  "  he  cried,  lifting  his  glass. 

They  touched  glasses,  and  my  uncle,  very  pale, 
drank  to  the  Republic. 

"  How  is  it,"  said  the  other,  "  you  have  not  seen 
any  Austrians  near  here? " 

"  No,  Colonel." 

"  Are  you  very  sure  of  it?  Look  me  straight  in 
the  face." 

"  I  have  not  seen  any." 

"  Did  you  not  make  a  journey  to  Keethal, 
lately? " 


MADAME  TH£RESE  23 

My  uncle  had  been  to  Reethal  three  days  before. 
He  thought  that  some  one  in  the  village  had  told 
the  Colonel,  and  answered, 

"  Yes,  Colonel." 

"  So;  and  were  there  no  Austrians  there?  " 

"  No." 

The  Republican  emptied  his  glass,  casting  a  side- 
long glance  at  Uncle  Jacob;  then  stretched  out  his 
arm,  and  took  him  by  the  wrist,  with  a  strange 
expression. 

"  You  say  there  were  none?  " 

"  Yes,  Colonel." 

"  Well,  you  lie,  then!  "  and  in  a  slow  voice  he 
added :  "  We  do  not  hang,  but  sometimes  we  shoot 
those  who  deceive  us!  " 

My  uncle's  face  became  still  paler,  but  he  held 
up  his  head,  and  repeated  in  a  firm  tone : 

"  Colonel,  I  swear  to  you  on  my  honor  that  there 
were  no  Imperialists  at  Reethal  three  days  ago." 

"  And  I,"  cried  the  Republican,  his  small  gray 
eyes  flashing  under  their  thick,  tawny  brows,  "  I 
tell  you  that  they  were  there !  Is  that  plain?  " 

There  was  a  silence.  All  in  the  kitchen  had 
turned  round;  the  Colonel's  manner  was  not  reas- 
suring. I  began  to  cry,  and  even  went  into  the 
room,  as  if  I  could  help  Uncle  Jacob,  and  placed 


24  MADAME  THERESE 

myself  behind  him.  The  Republican  looked  at  us, 
frowningly,  which  did  not  prevent  him  from  swal- 
lowing another  mouthful  of  ham,  as  if  to  give  him- 
self time  for  thought.  Outside,  Lisbeth  sobbed 
aloud. 

"  Colonel,"  said  my  uncle,  firmly,  "  perhaps  you 
do  not  know  that  there  are  two  Reethals,  one  on 
the  road  to  Kaiserslautern,  and  the  other  on  the 
Queich,  three  short  leagues  from  Landau;  the  Aus- 
trians  may  have  been  at  the  lower  one,  but  at  the 
other,  they  had  not  been  seen  Wednesday  evening." 

"  So!  "  said  the  Commandant,  in  bad  Lorraine 
German,  with  a  jeering  smile,  "  that  may  be.  But 
we  from  the  country  between  Bitche  and  Sarre- 
guemines,  are  as  knowing  as  you.  Unless  you  can 
prove  to  me  that  there  are  two  Reethals,  I  will  tell 
you  that  it  is  my  duty  to  have  you  arrested,  and 
tried  by  a  court-martial." 

"  Colonel,"  cried  my  uncle,  stretching  out  his 
arm,  "  the  proof  that  there  are  two  Reethals  is  that 
they  are  to  be  found  on  all  the  maps  of  the  country." 

He  pointed  to  our  old  map,  hanging  on  the  wall. 
The  Republican  turned  round,  and  looking  at  it, 
said: 

"  Ah,  it  is  a  map  of  the  country !  Let  us  examine 
it  a  little." 


MADAME  TH£RESE  25 

My  uncle  took  the  map  down,  and  spreading  it 
on  the  table,  showed  him  the  two  villages. 

"  It  is  true,"  said  the  Colonel.  "  Well  and  good; 
I  ask  nothing  better  than  to  see  a  thing  plainly." 

He  leaned  his  elbows  on  the  table,  and  with  his 
large  head  between  his  hands,  looked  at  the  map. 

"  Hold,  hold!  this  is  famous!  "  he  said;  "  where 
did  this  map  come  from?  " 

"  My  father  made  it.    He  was  a  mathematician." 

The  Republican  smiled. 

"  Yes;  the  woods,  the  rivers,  the  roads,  all  are 
marked,"  said  he.  "  I  recognize  that  we  passed 
that  place — it  is  good — very  good !  "  Then  straight- 
ening himself  up :  "  You  have  no  use  for  this  map, 
citizen  doctor,"  said  he  in  German.  "  I  need  it, 
and  I  put  it  in  requisition  for  the  service  of  the  He- 
public.  Well,  well,  I  beg  your  pardon.  Let  us 
have  one  drink  more  in  honor  of  the  Republic." 

We  can  imagine  with  what  eagerness  Lisbeth 
went  down  into  the  cellar  to  find  another  bottle. 
Uncle  Jacob  had  recovered  his  confidence.  The 
Colonel,  looking  at  me,  asked : 

"  Is  that  your  son?  " 

"  No,  he  is  my  nephew." 

"  A  well-built  little  fellow.  It  pleased  me  to  see 
him  come  in  just  now  to  your  aid.  Come  here, 


26  MADAME   THERESE 

close,"  lie  said,  drawing  me  to  him  by  the  arm. 
He  passed  his  hand  through  my  hair,  and  said,  in  a 
voice  a  little  harsh,  but  kindly:  "  Bring  up  this 
boy  in  the  love  of  the  rights  of  man.  Instead  of 
taking  care  of  cows,  he  may  become  colonel,  or  gen- 
eral, as  well  as  anybody  else.  I^ow  all  the  doors  are 
open;  any  position  can  be  taken.  One  need  only 
have  heart  and  luck  to  succeed.  I,  such  as  you  see 
me,  am  the  son  of  a  blacksmith  of  Sarreguemines; 
but  for  the  Republic,  I  should  still  hammer  the 
anvil;  our  great  lanky  fellow  of  a  count,  who  is 
with  the  white  coats,  would  be  an  eagle  by  the  grace 
of  God,  and  I  should  be  an  ass.  Instead  of  this,  it 
is  all  the  other  way,  thanks  to  the  Revolution." 

He  emptied  his  glass  brusquely,  and  half  shut- 
ting his  eyes  with  a  crafty  expression,  added : 

"  That  makes  a  little  difference." 

On  the  table,  beside  the  ham,  was  one  of  our 
short-cakes  which  the  Republicans  had  baked  with 
the  first  batch  of  bread.  He  cut  a  piece  for  me, 
and  said,  very  good-humoredly, 

"  Eat  this  boldly  and  try  to  become  a  man."  Then 
turning  toward  the  kitchen,  "  Sergeant  Lafleche!  " 
roared  he,  in  a  voice  of  thunder. 

An  old  sergeant  with  gray  moustaches,  dry  as  a 
salt  herring,  appeared  in  the  doorway. 


MADAME   THERESE  27 

"  How  many  loaves,  Sergeant  ?  " 

"  Forty." 

"  In  an  hour  we  must  have  fifty;  with  our  ten 
ovens,  five  hundred, — three  pounds  of  bread  for 
each  man." 

The  Sergeant  went  back  to  the  kitchen.  My 
uncle  and  I  observed  all  this  without  moving.  The 
Colonel  again  bent  over  the  map,  his  head  between 
his  hands.  Day  began  to  dawn.  The  armed  sen- 
tinel was  still  pacing  up  and  down  before  our  win- 
dows. Silence  prevailed.  Many  of  the  soldiers 
were  sleeping,  their  heads  on  their  knapsacks, 
around  the  large  fires  which  they  had  kindled; 
others  were  in  the  houses.  The  clock  ticked  slowly; 
the  fire  still  sparkled  in  the  kitchen.  But  in  a  few 
moments,  a  great  noise  arose  in  the  street;  window- 
panes  crashed;  a  door  was  thrown  open  noisily,  and 
we  heard  our  neighbor,  Joseph  Spick,  cry,  "  To 
the  rescue !  Fire !  "  But  no  one  stirred  in  the  vil- 
lage. All  were  glad  to  remain  quietly  in  their  own 
houses.  The  Colonel  listened. 

"  Sergeant  Lafleche !  "  cried  he.  The  Sergeant 
had  gone  to  see  what  the  matter  was.  He  came 
back  in  a  moment.  "  What  has  happened? "  asked 
the  Colonel. 

"  It  is  an  aristocrat  of  an  inn-keeper,  who  re- 


28  MADAME   THERESE 

fuses  to  comply  with  the  requisitions  of  the  citizen 
Therese,"  replied  he,  gravely. 

"Very  well!  bring  him  to  me." 

The  Sergeant  went  out.  In  a  few  minutes  our 
lane  was  full  of  people.  The  door  reopened,  and 
Joseph  Spick,  in  a  short  jacket,  loose  linen  panta- 
loons, and  a  cap  of  curled  wool,  appeared  between 
four  armed  soldiers  of  the  Republic,  with  faces  yel- 
low as  gingerbread,  worn-out  hats,  ragged  elbows, 
patched  knees,  and  torn  shoes,  mended  with  twine; 
all  of  which  did  not,  however,  prevent  their  hold- 
ing up  their  heads  high,  as  proud  as  kings.  Joseph 
Spick,  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  shoulders  bent, 
mouth  open,  and  quaking  cheeks,  trembled  so  that 
he  could  hardly  stand  on  his  long  legs.  He  seemed 
bewildered.  Behind  him,  in  the  shadow,  the  head 
of  a  woman,  pale  and  thin,  at  once  attracted  my  at- 
tention. She  had  a  high  forehead,  straight  nose, 
long  chin,  and  blue-black  hair,  which  drooped  in 
large  bands  over  her  temples,  and  was  braided  be- 
hind the  ears,  so  that  her  face  seemed  extremely 
long.  Her  eyes  were  large,  and  black.  She 
wore  a  felt  hat  with  the  tri-color  cockade,  and 
over  it  a  red  handkerchief  knotted  under  the 
chin.  As  I  had  seen,  in  our  country,  only  blondes 
or  brunettes,  this  woman  filled  me  with  astonish- 


MADAME   THERESE  29 

ment  and  admiration.  Young  as  I  was,  I  looked  at 
her  amazed.  My  uncle  appeared  no  less  astonished 
than  I,  and  after  she  had  come  in,  followed  by  five 
or  six  other  Republicans,  dressed  like  the  first,  we 
could  not  take  our  eyes  off  of  her. 

She  wore  a  large  cloak  of  blue  cloth,  with  a  triple 
cape  falling  to  the  elbows,  a  little  cask,  which  was 
hung  over  her  shoulder,  and  around  her  neck  a  thick 
black  silk  cravat,  with  long  fringe — doubtless  some 
spoil  of  war — which  heightened  still  more  the 
beauty  of  her  calm,  proud  face. 

The  Colonel  waited  until  all  had  come  in,  look- 
ing closely  at  Joseph  Spick,  who  seemed  more  dead 
than  alive.  Then  turning  to  the  woman,  who  had 
just  raised  her  hat,  with  a  movement  of  the  head, 
said: 

"  Well,  Therese,  what  has  happened?  " 

"  You  know,  Colonel,  that  at  the  last  halting- 
place  I  had  not  another  drop  of  brandy,"  said  she, 
in  a  firm,  clear  voice.  "  My  first  care  on  arriving 
here,  was  to  go  through  the  village  to  find  some,  in- 
tending to  pay  for  it,  of  course.  But  the  people 
hid  it  all,  and  it  was  not  until  half  an  hour  ago  that 
I  saw  the  fir-branch  on  this  man's  door.  Corporal 
Merlot,  Private  Cincinnatus,  and  Drum-major 
Horatius  Codes  followed,  to  help  me.  We  went  in 


30  MADAME  THERESE 

and  asked  for  wine,  brandy,  or  anything  of  the 
kind;  but  the  aristocrat  had  nothing;  he  was  deaf. 
Then  we  searched  the  place,  and  at  last  found  the 
entrance  to  the  cellar,  in  the  wood-house,  concealed 
by  a  pile  of  fagots.  "We  might  have  quarreled  with 
him;  instead  of  that,  we  went  down,  and  found 
wine,  bacon,  sour-krout,  and  brandy.  We  filled  our 
casks,  took  some  bacon,  and  came  up  quietly.  But 
seeing  us  return  thus  laden,  this  man,  who  was 
seated  tranquilly  in  his  room,  began  to  cry  for  help, 
and  instead  of  accepting  my  money,  tore  it  up,  and 
seizing  me  by  the  arm,  shook  me  with  all  his 
strength.  Cincinnatus  put  his  load  on  the  table, 
and  taking  this  great  fool  by  the  collar,  threw  him 
against  the  window  of  his  old  house.  Then  Sergeant 
Lafleche  arrived.  That  is  all,  Colonel." 

When  she  had  finished,  she  withdrew  behind  the 
others,  and  immediately  a  little  dry  man,  thin  and 
brusque,  whose  hat  was  on  one  side,  and  who  held 
under  his  arm  a  long  cane  with  a  copper  knob, 
shaped  like  an  onion,  came  forward,  and  said, 
pompously: 

"  Colonel,  what  Citizen  Therese  has  just  com- 
municated is  an  expression  of  the  indignation  which 
one  naturally  feels  at  coming  in  contact  with  a 
senseless  aristocrat  who  thinks  " 


MADAME   THERESE  31 

"  Very  well,"  interrupted  the  Commandant, 
"  the  word  of  Citizen  Therese  is  sufficient."  And 
addressing  Joseph  Spick  in  German,  he  said,  f  rown- 
ingly:  "  Tell  me,  do  you  wish  to  be  shot?  It  will 
cost  only  the  trouble  of  leading  you  into  your  gar- 
den. Do  you  not  know  that  the  paper  of  the  Re- 
public is  worth  more  than  the  gold  of  tyrants?  Lis- 
ten; this  time  I  will  pardon  you,  in  consideration  of 
your  ignorance;  but  if  it  happens  that  you  again 
conceal  your  provisions,  and  refuse  to  accept  our 
money  in  payment,  I  will  have  you  shot  in  the  vil- 
lage square  to  serve  as  an  example  to  others.  Go, 
then!  march,  you  great  idiot!  " 

He  delivered  this  little  harangue  very  emphati- 
cally. Then  turning  to  the  cantiniere,  said, 

"  Well,  Therese,  you  can  fill  your  cask ;  this  man 
will  make  no  further  objections.  And  you,  soldiers, 
release  him." 

They  all  went  out.  Therese  first,  Joseph  last. 
The  poor  devil  had  hardly  a  drop  of  blood  left  in 
his  veins.  He  had  just  had  a  narrow  escape. 

Meanwhile,  daylight  had  come.  The  Colonel 
rose,  folded  the  map,  and  put  it  into  his  pocket. 
Then  he  went  to  a  window  and  looked  out  on  the 
village.  My  uncle  and  I  looked  from  the  other  win- 
dow. It  was  about  five  o'clock  in  the  morning. 


m 

As  long  as  I  live  I  shall  remember  that  silent 
street,  filled  with  sleeping  men;  some  stretched  out, 
some  coiled  up,  their  heads  resting  on  their  knap- 
sacks. I  can  still  see  those  muddy  feet,  those  worn- 
out  shoes,  and  patched  coats,  those  young  faces, 
tinged  with  brown,  and  rigid  old  faces,  with  closed 
eyelids;  the  large  hats,  faded  epaulettes,  the  cock- 
ades, the  woollen  blankets  with  ragged  red  borders, 
the  gray  cloaks,  and  the  straw  scattered  in  the  mud. 
Then  the  great  silence  of  their  sleep  after  the  forced 
march — this  absolute  repose  like  death.  All  was 
enveloped  in  the  bluish  light  of  early  morning;  the 
pale  sun,  rising  in  a  fog,  shed  but  a  sickly  light 
over  the  little  houses  with  their  large  thatched  roofs, 
and  small  black  windows.  In  the  distance,  at  both 
ends  of  the  village,  on  the  Altenberg,  and  the  Ree- 
pockel,  above  the  orchards  and  hemp-fields,  the  sen- 
tinels' bayonets  gleamed  among  the  fading  stars. 
No,  I  shall  never  forget  that  strange  spectacle.  I 
was  very  young  then,  but  such  memories  are  eternal. 
32 


MADAME   THERESE  ,< 

»>»> 

Aa  the  day  advanced,  the  picture  became  ani- 
mated. One  man  raised  his  head,  leaned  on  his 
elbow,  and  looked  round;  then  yawned,  and  went 
to  sleep  again.  Then  an  old  soldier  suddenly 
straightened  himself,  shook  the  straw  from  his 
clothes,  adjusted  his  felt  hat,  and  folded  his  ragged 
blanket;  another  rolled  up  his  cloak  and  buckled 
it  on  his  knapsack;  a  third  drew  from  his  pocket 
the  stump  of  a  pipe,  and  struck  a  light.  The  early 
risers  had  gathered  together,  and  were  talking,  and 
the  others  joined  them,  stamping  their  feet,  for  it 
was  cold  at  that  hour,  and  the  fires  which  had  been 
lighted  in  the  streets  and  on  the  Common  had  gone 
out. 

Opposite  our  house,  on  the  little  square,  was  the 
fountain.  Some  of  the  Republicans  were  collected 
around  two  large  moss-covered  troughs,  washing 
themselves,  laughing,  and  chatting  pleasantly,  not- 
withstanding the  cold;  others  were  stooping  down, 
drinking  with  upturned  mouths  from  the  pump. 

Then  the  houses  were  opened,  one  by  one,  and 
we  saw  soldiers  coming  out  from  them,  stooping 
so  as  not  to  strike  their  heads  against  the  low  door- 
ways. Nearly  all  had  their  pipes  lighted. 

To  the  right  of  our  barn,  before  Spick's  inn,  was 
stationed  the  cantiniere's  cart,  covered  with  a  large 
9 


34  MADAME   THERESE 

cloth.  It  had  two  wheels,  like  a  hand-barrow,  the 
shafts  lying  on  the  ground. 

The  mule  was  behind,  covered  with  an  old  woollen 
horse-blanket  of  red  and  blue  check,  and  had  drawn 
from  our  stall  a  long  wisp  of  hay,  which  he  chewed 
gravely  with  half -closed  eyes  and  a  sentimental  air. 

The  cantiniere  was  seated  at  the  window  mending 
a  little  pair  of  pantaloons,  and  throwing  a  glance 
from  time  to  time  at  the  shed,  where  the  drum- 
major,  Horatius  Codes,  Cincinnatus,  Merlot,  and 
a  tall,  thin,  dry,  jovial  fellow,  were  seated  astride 
bundles  of  hay,  making  each  other's  queues.  They 
combed  out  the  braids,  and  smoothed  them  by  spit- 
ting on  their  hands. 

Horatius  Codes,  who  was  the  head  of  the  band, 
was  humming  an  air,  and  his  comrades  repeated  the 
refrain. 

Near  them  against  two  old  casks  slept  a  little 
drummer,  about  twelve  years  old,  as  fair  as  myself, 
who  interested  me  particularly.  It  was  he  whbm 
the  cantiniere  was  watching,  and  doubtless  they 
were  his  pantaloons  that  she  was  mending.  He  was 
stretched  out,  his  face  upturned,  his  mouth  half- 
opened,  his  back  against  the  two  casks  and  one  arm 
over  his  drum.  His  drumsticks  were  slipped  into 
his  shoulder-belt,  and  on  his  feet,  covered  with 


MADAME  THERESE  35 

straw,  was  stretched  out  a  large,  and  very  dirty 
spaniel,  which  kept  him  warm.  Every  moment  this 
dog  raised  his  head  and  looked  at  the  boy,  as  if  to 
say; 

"  I  should  like  very  much  to  take  a  tour  among 
the  kitchens  of  the  village !  " 

But  the  little  one  did  not  stir,  he  slept  so  soundly  1 
"When  some  dogs  barked  in  the  distance  the  spaniel 
gaped.  He  would  have  liked  to  be  one  of  the  party. 

Soon  two  officers  came  out  of  a  neighboring 
house;  two  slender  young  men  in  tightly-fitting 
coats.  As  they  passed  the  house,  the  Colonel  cried : 

"Duchene!    Richer!" 

"  Good-morning,  Colonel,"  said  they,  turning 
back. 

"  Are  the  posts  relieved?  " 

"  Yes,  Colonel." 

"Nothing  new?" 

"  Nothing,  Colonel." 

"  In  half  an  hour  we  begin  our  march.  Sound 
the  call,  Richer.  Come  in,  Duchene." 

One  of  the  officers  went  in.  The  other  passed 
into  the  shed  and  said  something  to  Horatius  Codes. 
I  looked  at  the  new-comer.  The  Colonel  had  or- 
dered a  bottle  of  brandy.  They  were  drinking  to- 
gether, when  a  hum  was  heard  outside.  It  was  the 


36  MADAME  THERESE 

drum-beat.  I  ran  to  see  what  was  going  on.  Ho- 
ratius  Codes,  at  the  head  of  five  drummers — among 
whom,  on  the  left,  was  the  little  boy — raising  his 
baton,  initiated  the  performance,  which  continued 
as  long  as  he  held  it  up.  The  Eepublicans  came  in 
from  all  the  by-streets  of  the  village,  and  were 
ranged  in  two  lines  in  front  of  the  fountain,  and 
their  sergeants  began  the  call.  My  uncle  and  I 
were  astonished  at  the  order  which  prevailed  among 
these  men.  When  their  names  were  called  they  an- 
swered so  promptly  that  it  seemed  as  if  there  were 
but  one  reply  from  all  sides.  They  had  taken  their 
guns,  and  held  them  carelessly,  on  their  shoulders, 
or  with  the  butt-end  on  the  ground, — just  as  they 
•chose. 

After  the  call  there  was  perfect  silence,  and  then 
several  men  from  each  company  were  detached,  un- 
der the  escort  of  the  corporals,  to  go  and  fetch  their 
bread.  Citizen  Therese  harnessed  her  mule  to  the 
<?art.  Some  moments  afterwards  the  squads  re- 
turned, bringing  loaves  of  bread  in  bags  and  baskets. 
The  distribution  began.  As  the  Republicans  had 
made  and  eaten  soup  on  their  arrival,  they  were  not 
hungry,  and  each  one  buckled  a  loaf  to  his  knapsack. 

"  Come !  "  cried  the  Colonel,  in  a  joyful  tone, 
"let  us  move! " 


MADAME   THERESE  37 

He  took  his  cloak,  threw  it  over  his  shoulders,  and 
went  out,  without  saying  good-by  to  anybody. 

We  thought  we  had  got  rid  of  these  people  for- 
ever. 

As  soon  as  he  had  gone,  the  burgomaster  came 
to  entreat  Uncle  Jacob  to  go  home  with  him  imme- 
diately, as  the  sight  of  the  Republicans  had  made 
his  wife  ill. 

They  went  out  together.  Lisbeth  at  once  ar- 
ranged the  chairs,  and  swept  out  the  sitting-room. 
We  could  hear  the  officers'  commands  outside. 
"  forward,  march !  "  The  drums  sounded.  The 
cantiniere  cried  "  Hue !  "  to  her  mule,  and  the 
battalion  was  starting,  when  suddenly  a  terrible 
cracking  resounded  through  the  village.  It  was 
the  firing  of  guns,  sometimes  several  together, — 
then  one  at  a  time. 

The  Republicans  were  just  going  into  the  street- 

"  Halt !  "  cried  the  Colonel,  standing  in  his  stir- 
rups and  looking  around,  listening  attentively. 

I  went  to  the  window,  and  saw  all  these  men 
attentive,  and  the  officers  outside  the  ranks,  gath- 
ered around  their  chief,  who  was  speaking  with  an- 
imation. 

Suddenly  a  soldier  appeared  at  the  corner  of  the 
street.  He  was  running  with  his  gun  on  his  shoul- 
der. 


38  MADAME   THERESE 

"  Colonel,"  he  called  out,  while  still  at  a  distance, 
quite  breathless,  "  the  Croats !  The  outposts  are 
carried — they  are  coming!  " 

He  had  hardly  finished  speaking  when  the  Colo- 
nel turned  back,  galloped  along  the  line  at  full 
speed,  and  cried: 

"  Form  square !  " 

The  officers,  the  drummers,  and  the  cantiniere, 
all  fell  back,  in  front  of  the  fountain,  while  the 
companies  crossed  each  other  like  the  shuffling  of  a 
pack  of  cards.  In  less  than  a  minute  they  had 
formed  a  square,  three  deep,  with  the  others  in  the 
middle.  Immediately  after,  a  terrible  noise  was 
heard  in  the  street;  the  Croats  were  coming;  the 
ground  shook.  I  see  them  now  pouring  into  the 
street,  their  large  red  cloaks  trimmed  with  fur  float- 
ing behind  them  like  banners,  and  bending  so  low 
in  their  saddles  with  their  sabres  in  front,  that  one 
could  hardly  see  the  brown  bony  faces,  with  long 
yellow  moustaches. 

It  seems  as  if  children  must  be  possessed  with  the 
devil,  for  instead  of  running  to  a  place  of  safety, 
I  stayed  there,  with  eyes  wide-open  to  see  the  fight. 
I  was  very  much  afraid,  it  is  true,  but  curiosity 
was  stronger  than  fear. 

"While  I  looked  and  trembled,  the  Croats  had 


MADAME   THERESE  39 

reached  the  square.    Instantly  the  Colonel  cried: 
"  Fire  !  " 

Then  a  clap  of  thunder,  then  nothing  but  a  buzz- 
ing in  my  ears.  Each  side  of  the  square  turned 
toward  the  street  had  fired  at  once;  our  window- 
panes  were  shivered,  the  smoke  came  into  the  room, 
with  pieces  of  cartridges,  and  the  smell  of  powder 
filled  the  air.  I,  my  hair  standing  on  end,  still 
looked  on,  and  saw  the  Croats  on  their  small  horses 
rush  forward  in  the  gray  smoke,  fall  back,  then  rush 
forward  again,  as  if  trying  to  climb  over  the  square, 
and  others  coming  up  constantly,  crying  in  a  savage 
voice : 

"  Forward !  forward !  " 

"Fire,  the  second  rank!  "  cried  the  Colonel,  in 
the  midst  of  neighings  and  ceaseless  cries.  His  voice 
was  as  calm  as  when  he  was  speaking  in  our  room. 
Another  clap  of  thunder  followed,  and  how  the 
plastering  fell,  how  the  tiles  rattled  from  the  roofs, 
how  heaven  and  earth  seemed  to  mingle!  Lisbeth, 
in  the  kitchen,  uttered  screams  so  piercing  that  even 
in  all  the  tumult  they  could  be  heard  like  a  shrill 
whistle. 

After  the  fire  of  the  platoon,  began  the  fire  of 
the  file.  We  could  see  the  guns  of  the  second  rank 
lower,  fire,  then  rise  again,  while  the  first  rank, 


40  MADAME  THERESE 

with  their  knees  bent  on  the  ground,  crossed  bay- 
onets, and  the  third  loaded  the  guns  and  passed 
them  to  the  second.  The  Croats  whirled  round  the 
square  striking  from  a  distance  with  their  long 
sabres.  From  time  to  time  a  hat  fell,  sometimes 
a  man.  One  of  the  Croats,  throwing  his  horse  back 
on  his  haunches,  leaped  so  far  that  he  cleared  the 
three  lines,  and  fell  inside  the  square.  But  then 
the  Republican  Colonel  threw  himself  upon  him, 
and  with  a  furious  stroke,  nailed  him,  so  to  speak, 
to  the  back  of  his  horse.  I  saw  him  withdraw  his 
sabre  red  to  the  hilt.  This  sight  made  me  turn  cold. 
I  was  going  to  fly,  but  had  hardly  risen,  when  the 
Croats  faced  about,  and  fled,  leaving  a  great  num- 
ber of  men  and  horses  in  the  square.  The  horses 
tried  to  rise,  then  fell  again.  Five  or  six  horsemen 
lay  under  their  beasts,  trying  to  free  their  legs; 
others,  all  bloody,  dragged  themselves  along  on  all 
fours,  raising  their  hands,  and  crying  in  a  lament- 
able voice,  in  their  fear  of  being  killed,  "  Pardon, 
Frenchmen!  "  Some,  not  able  to  endure  their  suf- 
ferings, begged  the  favor  of  being  put  out  of  such 
misery. 

Most  of  them,  however,  lay  motionless.  For  the 
first  time,  I  fully  understood  what  death  is;  these 
men  that  I  had  seen  two  minutes  before,  full  of  life 


MADAME  THERESE  41 

and  strength,  charging  their  enemies  with  fury,  and 
rushing  forward  like  wolves,  lay  there,  pell-mell, 
senseless  as  the  stones  of  the  street. 

In  the  ranks  of  the  Republicans  there  were  also 
vacant  places,  bodies  stretched  on  their  faces,  and 
some  wounded,  their  heads  and  faces  covered  with 
blood.  They  bandaged  their  heads,  placing  their 
guns  at  their  feet,  without  leaving  the  ranks. 
Their  comrades  helped  them  to  bind  on  a  hand- 
kerchief, and  put  the  hat  above  it.  The  Colonel, 
on  horseback  near  the  fountain,  his  large  plumed 
hat  pushed  back,  and  his  sabre  clenched  in  his  hand, 
closed  up  the  ranks;  near  him  were  some  drummers 
in  line,  and  a  little  farther  on,  near  the  trough,  was 
the  cantiniere  with  her  cask.  We  could  hear  the 
trumpets  of  the  Croats  sounding  the  retreat.  They 
had  halted  at  the  turn  of  the  street.  One  of  their 
sentinels  was  posted  there,  behind  the  corner  of  the 
Town  Hall.  Only  his  horse's  head  was  to  be  seen. 
Some  guns  were  still  being  fired. 

"  Cease  firing !  "  cried  the  Colonel,  and  all  was 
silent.  We  heard  only  the  trumpet  in  the  distance. 

The  cantiniere  then  went  inside  the  ranks  to  pour 
out  brandy  for  the  men,  while  seven  or  eight  sturdy 
fellows  drew  water  from  a  fountain  in  their 
bowls,  for  the  wounded,  who  begged  for  drink  in 


42  MADAME  THERESE 

pitiable  voices.  I  leaned  from  the  window,  looking 
down  the  deserted  street,  and  asking  myself  if  the 
red  cloaks  would  dare  to  return.  The  Colonel  also 
looked  in  that  direction,  and  talked  with  a  captain 
who  was  leaning  against  his  saddle.  Suddenly  the 
captain  crossed  the  square,  left  the  ranks,  and 
rushed  into  our  house,  crying: 

"  The  master  of  the  house  ? " 

"  He  has  gone  out." 

"  Well — you — lead  me  to  your  garret — quick!  " 

I  left  my  shoes  there,  and  began  to  climb  the  steps 
at  the  end  of  the  hall  like  a  squirrel;  the  captain 
followed  me.  At  the  top,  he  saw  at  a  single  glance 
the  ladder  of  the  pigeon-house,  and  mounted  before 
me.  When  we  had  entered,  he  placed  his  elbows 
on  the  edge  of  the  somewhat  low  window,  and  leaned 
forward  so  as  to  see.  I  looked  over  his  shoulder. 
The  entire  road,  as  far  as  one  could  see,  was  lined 
with  men,  cavalry,  infantry,  cannon,  army  wagons, 
red  cloaks,  green  pelisses,  white  coats,  helmets, 
cuirasses,  files  of  lances  and  bayonets,  ranks  of 
horses,  and  all  were  coming  toward  the  village. 

"  It  is  an  army!  "  exclaimed  the  captain,  in  a  low 
voice. 

He  turned  suddenly  to  go  down,  then,  seized  with 
an  idea,  pointed  out  to  me  along  the  village,  within 


MADAME   THERESE 


43 


two  gunshots,  a  file  of  red  cloaks  who  were  turning 
the  curve  of  the  road  just  behind  the  orchards. 

"  You  see  those  red  cloaks? "  said  he. 

"  Yes." 

"  Does  a  carriage  road  pass  there? n 

"  JSTo,  it  is  a  foot-path." 

"  And  this  large  hollow  which  cuts  it  in  the 
middle,  directly  before  us — is  it  deep?  " 

"Oh,  yes!" 

"  Carriages  and  carts  never  pass  that  way?  " 

"  No,  they  could  not." 

Then,  without  asking  anything  more,  he  de- 
scended the  ladder  backwards,  as  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible, and  hastened  down  the  stairs.  I  followed 
him;  we  were  soon  at  the  foot,  but  before  we 
had  reached  the  end  of  the  hall,  the  approach  of 
a  body  of  cavalry  caused  the  houses  to  shake.  De- 
spite this,  the  captain  went  out,  took  two  men  from 
the  ranks,  and  disappeared.  Thousands  of  quick, 
strange  cries,  like  those  of  a  flock  of  crows,  "  Hur- 
rah !  hurrah !  "  filled  the  street  from  one  end  to  the 
other,  and  nearly  drowned  the  dull  thud  of  the 
horses'  galloping.  I,  feeling  very  proud  of  having 
conducted  the  captain  to  the  pigeon-house,  was  so 
imprudent  as  to  go  to  the  door.  The  lancers,  for 
this  time  they  were  lancers,  came  like  the  wind, 


44  MADAME  THERESE 

their  spears  in  rest,  their  ears  covered  by  large  hair 
caps,  eyes  staring,  noses  almost  concealed  by  their 
moustaches,  and  large  pistols,  with  butt  ends  of 
brass,  in  their  belts.  It  was  like  a  vision.  I  had 
only  time  to  jump  back  from  the  door.  My  blood 
froze  in  my  veins.  And  it  was  only  when  the  firing 
recommenced  that  I  awoke,  as  if  from  a  dream,  anjl 
found  myself  in  the  back  part  of  our  room  opposite 
the  broken  windows.  The  air  was  thick,  the  square 
all  white  with  smoke.  The  Colonel  alone  was  vis- 
ible, seated  immovable  on  his  horse  near  the  foun- 
tain. He  might  have  been  taken  for  a  bronze  statue 
in  this  blue  sea,  from  which  hundreds  of  red  flames 
spouted.  The  lancers  leaped  about  like  immense 
grasshoppers,  thrust  their  spears,  and  withdrew 
them;  others  fired  their  pistols  into  the  ranks,  at 
four  paces. 

It  seemed  to  me  that  the  square  was  breaking. 
It  was  true. 

"  Close  the  ranks!  stand  firm!  "  cried  the  Colo- 
nel, in  his  calm  voice. 

"  Close  the  ranks!  Close!  "  repeated  the  officers 
all  along  the  line.  But  the  square  gave  way,  and 
became  a  semi-circle.  The  centre  nearly  touched 
the  fountain.  At  each  stroke  of  the  lance,  the  parry 
of  the  bayonet  came  like  a  flash  of  light,  but  some- 


MADAME  THERESE  45 

times  the  man  fell.  The  Republicans  no  longer  had 
time  to  reload.  They  ceased  firing,  and  the  lances 
were  constantly  coming,  bolder,  more  numerous,  en- 
veloping the  square  in  a  whirlwind,  and  already  ut- 
tering cries  of  triumph,  for  they  believed  themselves 
conquerors. 

For  myself,  I  thought  the  Republicans  were  lost, 
when,  in  the  height  of  the  combat,  the  Colonel,  rais- 
ing his  hat  on  the  end  of  his  sabre,  began  to  sing  a 
song  which  made  one's  flesh  creep,  and  all  the  bat- 
talion, as  one  man,  sang  with  him.  In  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye  the  whole  front  of  the  square  straightened 
itself,  and  forced  into  the  street  all  the  mass  of 
horsemen,  pressed  one  against  another,  with  their 
long  lances,  like  corn  in  the  fields.  This  song  seemed 
to  render  the  Republicans  furious.  It  was  terrible 
to  see  them.  And  I  have  thought  many  times  since 
that  men  arrayed  in  battle  are  more  ferocious  than 
wild  beasts.  But  there  was  something  still  more 
horrible ;  the  last  ranks  of  the  Austrian  column,  at 
the  end  of  the  street,  not  seeing  what  was  passing 
at  the  entrance  of  the  square,  rushed  forward,  cry- 
ing, "  Hurrah!  hurrah!  "  so  that  those  in  the  first 
ranks,  repulsed  by  the  bayonets  of  the  Republicans, 
and  not  able  to  go  further  back,  were  thrown  into 
unspeakable  confusion,  and  uttered  distressing  cries; 


46  MADAME   THERESE 

their  large  horses,  pricked  in  the  nostrils,  were  so 
frightened  that  their  manes  stood  up  straight,  their 
eyes  started  from  their  heads,  and  they  uttered  shrill 
cries,  and  kicked  wildly,  from  a  distance  I  saw 
these  unfortunate  lancers,  mad  with  fear,  turn 
round,  strike  their  comrades  with  the  handles  of 
their  lances  to  force  a  passage  for  themselves,  and 
fly  like  hares  past  the  houses. 

A  few  minutes  afterward  the  street  was  empty. 
There  remained,  indeed,  twenty-five  or  thirty  poor 
devils  shut  up  in  the  square.  They  had  not  seen 
the  retreat,  and  were  entirely  disconcerted,  not 
knowing  where  to  fly.  But  this  was  soon  over.  A 
fresh  discharge  of  the  guns  stretched  them  on  their 
backs,  except  two  or  three  who  were  thrown  into 
Tanners'  Lane.  Only  a  heap  of  horses  and  dead 
men  was  to  be  seen.  Blood  flowed  through  the 
gutters,  into  the  trough. 

"  Cease  firing!  "  cried  the  Colonel,  for  the  second 
time.  "Load!" 

At  that  moment  nine  o'clock  struck  from  the 
church  tower.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  vil- 
lage as  it  looked  then;  houses  pierced  with  balls; 
shutters  hanging  from  their  hinges;  windows  shat- 
tered; chimneys  tottering;  the  street  full  of  tiles 
and  broken  bricks,  the  roofs  of  the  sheds  open  to  the 


MADAME   THERESE  47 

sky,  and  that  heap  of  dead,  those  horses  stretched 
on  the  ground,  struggling  and  bleeding.  It  is  a 
scene  which  defies  description. 

The  Kepublicans,  diminished  by  half  their  num- 
ber, their  large  hats  fallen  back,  stern  and  terrible  in 
aspect,  awaited  orders  under  arms.  Behind,  at  a 
little  distance  from  our  house,  stood  the  Colonel,  de- 
liberating with  his  officers.  I  could  easily  hear  what 
he  said. 

"  "VVe  have  an  Austrian  army  before  us,"  said  he, 
abruptly.  "  The  question  is,  how  to  save  ourselves. 
In  an  hour  we  shall  have  twenty  or  thirty  thousand 
men  upon  us.  They  will  surround  the  village  with 
their  infantry,  and  we  shall  all  be  lost.  I  am  going 
to  beat  a  retreat.  Has  anybody  anything  to  say  ?  " 

"  No,  it  is  a  wise  decision." 

Then  they  disappeared,  and  two  minutes  after, 
I  saw  a  number  of  soldiers  enter  the  houses,  throw 
chairs,  tables,  and  chests  of  drawers  into  a  heap 
outside;  some  threw  straw  and  hay  from  the  barns; 
others  brought  carts  and  carriages  from  the  out- 
houses. In  less  than  ten  minutes  they  had  formed 
at  the  entrance  of  the  street  a  barrier  as  high  as  the 
houses;  they  placed  hay  and  straw  above  and  be- 
neath it.  The  drum-beat  recalled  those  who  were 
engaged  in  this  work.  The  fire  rose  immediately, 


48  MADAME  THERESE 

step  by  step,  to  the  top  of  the  barricade,  licking  the 
neighboring  roofs  with  its  red  flames,  and  spreading 
its  black  smoke  like  an  immense  vault  over  the  vil- 
lage. Loud  cries  rose  in  the  distance;  shots  were 
heard  on  the  other  side,  but  we  saw  nothing,  and 
the  Colonel  gave  the  order  for  retreat.  I  saw  the 
Republicans  defile  past  our  house  with  slow,  firm 
steps,  flashing  eyes,  red  bayonets,  black  hands,  hol- 
low cheeks.  Two  drummers  marched  silently  be- 
hind, one  of  whom  was  the  little  boy  whom  I  had 
seen  sleeping  in  our  shed.  He  had  his  drum  slung 
over  his  shoulder,  and  was  bent  forward,  in  march- 
ing attitude;  large  tears  flowed  over  his  round 
cheeks,  which  were  blackened  by  the  smoke  of  the 
powder.  His  comrade  said,  "  Come,  little  Jean, 
courage !  "  But  he  did  not  seem  to  hear  him.  Ho- 
ratius  Codes  and  the  cantiniere  had  disappeared. 
I  followed  the  troop  with  my  eyes  until  they  turned 
the  street.  A  few  moments  afterward  the  bell  of 
the  Town  Hall  sounded,  and  in  the  distance  dis- 
tressed voices  were  heard,  crying,  "  Fire !  fire !  " 

I  looked  toward  the  barricade  of  the  Republicans. 
The  fire  had  reached  the  houses,  and  rose  toward  the 
sky.  On  the  other  side  the  din  of  arms  filled  the 
street,  and  already  long  black  pikes  were  thrust 
from  the  garret-windows  of  the  neighboring  houses 
to  break  down  the  burning  barricade. 


IV 

AFTER  the  departure  of  the  Republicans,  a  quar- 
tev  of  an  hour  passed  before  anybody  appeared  on 
our  side  of  the  street.  All  the  houses  seemed  de- 
serted. On  the  other  side  of  the  barricade  the 
tumult  increased ;  cries  of  "  Fire !  fire !  "  continued, 
in  dismal  tones.  I  went  into  the  shed,  frightened 
at  the  fire.  Nothing  stirred.  I  heard  only  the 
crackling  of  the  flames  and  the  sighs  of  a  wounded 
man  leaning  against  the  wall  of  our  stable.  He  had 
a  ball  in  his  loins,  and  leaned  forward,  supporting 
himself  on  his  hands.  He  was  a  Croat.  He  looked 
at  me  with  terrible,  despairing  eyes.  A  little  fur- 
ther on,  a  horse,  lying  on  his  side,  swung  his  head  to 
and  fro,  on  his  long  neck,  like  a  pendulum.  As  I 
stood  there,  thinking  that  the  French  must  be  great 
brigands,  to  burn  our  houses  without  any  reason, 
I  heard  a  faint  sound  behind  me.  Turning  round, 
I  saw  in  the  gloom  of  the  shed  under  the  straw 
falling  from  the  beams,  the  half  open  door  of  the 
barn,  and  behind  it  the  pale  face  and  staring  eyes 

4  49 


50  MADAME   THERESE 

of  our  neighbor  Spick.  He  put  his  head  out  softly, 
and  listened;  then,  convinced  that  the  Republicans 
had  retreated,  he  rushed  out,  brandishing  his  axe 
like  a  madman,  and  crying: 

"  Where  are  they,  those  beggars?  Where  are 
they — let  me  exterminate  them!  " 

"  Ah,"  said  I;  "  they're  gone,  but  if  you  run,  you 
can  overtake  them  at  the  end  of  the  village." 

He  gave  me  a  sidelong  glance,  and  seeing  that  I 
spoke  innocently,  left  me,  and  ran  to  the  fire. 
Other  doors  now  opened,  and  men  and  women  came 
out,  looked  around  them,  and  raised  their  hands  to 
heaven,  crying: 

"  Curse  them !    Curse  them !  " 

They  all  hastened  with  their  buckets  to  extin- 
guish the  fire.  The  fountain  was  soon  surrounded. 
They  formed  a  line  on  both  sides  of  the  barricade, 
which  extended  to  the  houses  that  were  in  danger. 
Some  soldiers  standing  on  the  roof,  poured  water 
upon  the  flames;  but  all  they  could  do  was  to  save 
the  neighboring  houses.  Toward  eleven  o'clock  a 
column  of  bluish  fire  rose  toward  the  sky;  among 
the  vehicles  that  were  piled  up  was  found  the  can- 
tiniere's  cart;  its  two  casks  of  brandy  had  burst. 
Uncle  Jacob  was  in  the  line,  also,  on  the  other  side, 
under  the  guard  of  the  Austrian  sentinels;  but  he 


MADAME   THERESE  51 

managed  to  escape  while  crossing  a  yard,  and  en- 
tered our  house  by  the  garden. 

"  Oh  Lord,"  cried  he,  "  Fritzel  is  saved!  " 

I  saw  by  this  how  much  he  loved  me.  He  kissed 
me,  and  asked: 

"  Where  have  you  been,  poor  child? " 

"  At  the  window,"  said  I. 

He  became  very  pale,  and  cried: 

"Lisbeth!    Lisbeth!  " 

But  she  did  not  answer,  and  we  could  not  find 
her,  although  we  went  into  all  the  rooms,  and  even 
looked  under  the  beds.  "VYe  thought  she  must  have 
gone  to  some  neighbor's  house  for  safety.  Mean- 
while they  had  put  out  the  fire,  and  suddenly  we 
heard  the  Austrians  cry  outside : 

"Koom!  room!  fallback!" 

And  a  regiment  of  Croats  passed  us  like  a  thun- 
derbolt. They  rushed  on  in  pursuit  of  the  Republi- 
cans; but  we  learned  the  next  day,  that  they  had 
arrived  too  late;  the  enemy  had  gained  the  forest  of 
Rothalps,  which  extended  as  far  as  the  Pirmasens. 
Now  we  understood  why  they  had  barricaded  the 
street  and  set  fire  to  the  houses.  They  wished  to 
retard  the  pursuit  of  the  cavalry,  and  thus  showed 
their  great  experience  in  war. 

From  that  moment  until  five  in  the  evening  two 


52  MADAME   THERESE 

Austrian  brigades  were  defiling  into  the  village  un« 
der  our  windows;  lancers,  dragoons,  hussars;  then 
cannon  and  army-wagons  ;  toward  three  o'clock, 
the  general-in-chief,  in  the  midst  of  his  officers, — 
a  large  old  man  in  a  three-cornered  hat,  and  long 
white  Polonaise,*  so  covered  with  lace  and  gold 
embroidery  that  the  Republican  commander,  in  his 
shabby  hat  and  uniform,  would  have  looked  like 
a  simple  corporal  beside  him.  The  burgomaster  and 
councillors  of  Anstatt,  in  cloth  coats  with  large 
sleeves,  their  heads  uncovered,  awaited  him  in  the 
square.  He  stopped  there  a  few  minutes,  and  look- 
ing at  the  dead  bodies  heaped  up  around  the  foun- 
tain, asked: 

"  How  many  of  the  French  were  here?  " 

"  A  battalion,  your  Excellency,"  replied  the  bu*- 
gomaster,  bent  double. 

The  general  said  nothing,  but  raised  his  three- 
cornered  hat,  and  pursued  his  way. 

Then  the  second  brigade  arrived;  TyroJese  rifle- 
men in  front,  in  green  coats,  black  hats,  with  turned- 
up  brims,  and  little  Inspruck  carbines;  then  another 
troop  of  infantry  in  white  coats,  sky-blue  breeches, 
and  great  gaiters  reaching  to  their  knees;  then  the 
heavy  cavalry,  men  six  feet  high,  encased  it  cui- 

*  Polish  robe. 


MADAME   THERESE  53 

rasses,  only  the  chin  and  long  red  moustache  visible 
under  the  visor  of  the  helmet;  then  came  large 
ambulances,  covered  with  gray  linen,  stretched  over 
hoops,  and  behind  them,  the  lame,  the  stragglers, 
and  the  cowards.  The  army  surgeons  made  the 
tour  of  the  square,  raised  the  wounded,  and  placed 
them  in  the  wagons,  and  one  of  their  leaders,  a  little 
old  man  in  a  white  wig,  said  to  the  burgomaster, 
pointing  to  those  who  remained : 

"  You  will  bury  all  those  as  soon  as  possible." 

"  Your  orders  shall  be  obeyed,  sir,"  answered  he, 
gravely. 

At  length  the  last  wagons  rolled  away.  It  was 
about  six  o'clock.  Night  had  come.  Uncle  Jacob 
and  I  stood  in  the  doorway.  Before  us,  near  the 
fountain,  all  the  dead  lay  in  rows,  with  upturned 
faces,  and  staring  eyes,  white  as  wax,  and  bloodless. 
The  women  and  children  of  the  village  walked 
around  them.  When  the  grave-digger,  Jeffer,  with 
his  two  sons,  Karl  and  Ludwig,  arrived  with  their 
pick-axes  on  their  shoulders,  the  burgomaster  said 
to  them: 

"  Take  twelve  men  with  you,  and  dig  a  deep  grave 
for  all  these  bodies,  in  the  meadow  of  the  WolfthaL 
Do  you  hear  me?  And  all  who  have  carts  must 
lend  them,  with  their  horses;  for  it  is  a  public  ser- 
vice." 


54  MADAME   THERESE 

Jeffer  bent  his  head,  and  went  immediately  to 
the  meadow  of  the  Wolfthal,  with  his  two  boys  and 
the  men  whom  he  had  chosen. 

"  Now,  we  must  find  Lisbeth,"  said  my  uncle. 

We  recommenced  our  search,  going  from  garret 
to  cellar,  and  at  last,  just  as  we  were  going  to  re- 
mount the  stairs,  we  saw  in  the  darkness,  behind  the 
barrel  of  sour-krout  between  the  two  air-holes,  a 
bundle  of  linen,  which  my  uncle  began  to  shake. 
Lisbeth  cried  immediately  in  a  pitiful  voice— 

"  Don't  kill  me !  In  heaven's  name  have  pity 
upon  me !  " 

"  Get  up,"  said  my  uncle,  kindly;  "  it  is  all 
over." 

But  she  was  still  so  much  frightened  that  she 
could  hardly  put  one  foot  before  the  other,  and 
I  had  to  lead  her  up  stairs  by  the  hand,  like  a  child. 
Then  finding  herself  again  in  the  kitchen,  she  sat 
down  by  the  hearth,  and  burst  into  tears,  praying, 
and  thanking  God  for  having  saved  her; — which 
proves  that  the  old  cling  to  life  quite  as  much  as 
the  young. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  hours  of  desolation  which 
followed,  and  the  constant  calls  upon  my  uncle  from 
the  unfortunates  who  claimed  his  care.  Not  a  mo- 
ment passed  but  a  woman  or  child  ran  into  the  house, 


MADAME   THERESE  55 

crying:  "Doctor!  come  quickly;  my  husband — 
my  brother — my  sister — are  ill!  " 

One  had  been  wounded,  another  had  become 
almost  insane  with  fear;  another,  stretched  out  to 
his  full  length,  gave  no  sign  of  life.  My  uncle 
could  not  be  everywhere. 

"  You  will  find  him  at  such  a  house,"  I  would 
say  to  these  wretched  ones;  "  make  haste!  " 

And  they  would  hasten  away.  It  was  very  late, 
nearly  ten  o'clock,  when  he  at  last  returned.  Lis- 
beth  had  recovered  from  her  fright  a  little,  She 
had  made  the  fire  on  the  hearth,  and  laid  the  table, 
as  usual;  but  the  plastering  from  the  ceiling,  the 
pieces  of  window-glass  and  wood  still  covered  the 
floor.  In  the  midst  of  it  all,  we  seated  ourselves 
at  the  table,  and  ate  in  silence.  From  time  to  time, 
my  uncle  raised  his  head,  and  looked  out  on  the 
square,  at  the  torches  moving  around  the  dead,  the 
black  carts  stationed  before  the  fountain,  with  their 
little  country  ponies,  the  grave-diggers,  the  lookers 
on, — all  out  in  the  darkness.  He  observed  them 
gravely,  and  suddenly,  when  we  had  nearly  finished, 
he  said  to  me,  stretching  out  his  hand : 

"  Behold  what  war  is,  Fritzel ; — look,  and  re- 
member! Yes,  this  is  war;  death  and  destruc- 
tion, fury  and  hatred,  disregard  of  all  human 


$6  MADAME  THERESE 

feelings.  When  God  strikes  us  with  His  curses, 
when  he  sends  us  pestilence  and  famine,  these  are 
at  least  inevitable  scourges,  decreed  by  His  wis- 
dom. But  here  it  is  man  himself,  who  decrees  mis- 
ery to  his  kind,  spreads  his  ravages  far  and  wide, 
without  pity.  Yesterday,  we  were  at  peace;  we 
asked  nothing  of  anybody;  we  had  done  no  harm; 
— and  suddenly  strange  men  came  to  strike,  to  ruin 
and  destroy  us.  Ah,  cursed  be  those  whose  ambi- 
tious spirit  provokes  such  misfortunes!  Let  them 
be  execrated  through  all  ages!  Fritzel,  remember 
this;  war  is  all  that  is  most  abominable  on  earth. 
Men  who  do  not  know,  who  have  never  seen  each 
other,  rush  suddenly  together,  to  tear  each  other 
to  pieces.  This  alone  would  make  us  believe  in 
God,  for  there  must  be  an  avenger  of  such  in- 
iquity." 

My  uncle  spoke  earnestly.  He  was  much  moved ; 
and  I  listened  with  head  bowed  down,  retaining 
every  word  and  graving  it  upon  my  memory.  As 
we  sat  thus,  a  kind  of  dispute  arose  outside  in  the 
square.  We  heard  a  dog  growl,  and  our  neighbor 
Spick  say,  angrily: 

"  Stop  I  stop!  you  beggar  of  a  dog.  I'll  give 
you  a  blow  with  my  pick-axe!  He's  an  animal  of 
the  same  species  as  his  masters.  They  pay  you 


MADAME  THERESE  57 

with  assignats  *  and  bites;  but  I'm  not  the  man 
to  submit  to  that!  " 

The  dog  growled  more  fiercely.  Other  voices 
broke  the  silence  of  the  night : 

"  It  is  very  curious,  though:  see,  he  won't  leave 
the  woman.  Perhaps  she  isn't  quite  dead." 

My  uncle  rose  hastily,  and  went  out.  I  followed. 
Nothing  could  be  more  terrible  than  the  sight  of 
those  dead  bodies  in  the  red  reflection  of  the  torches. 
There  was  no  wind,  but  the  flame  swayed  to  and 
fro,  and  all  those  ghostly  creatures  with  open  eyes 
eeemed  to  move. 

"Not  dead!"  cried  Spick.  "Are  you  a  fool, 
Jeffer?  Do  you  think  that  you  know  more  than 
the  army  surgeons?  No,  no,  she's  received  her 
due.  She's  well  served — she's  the  woman  who  paid 
for  my  brandy  with  paper.  Go  away  from  here, 
that  I  may  kill  the  dog,  and  thus  end  the  matter." 

"  What's  going  on  here? "  asked  my  uncle,  in 
a  loud  voice.  They  all  turned  round  and  looked 
frightened.  The  grave-digger  took  off  his  hat, 
two  or  three  others  moved  aside,  and  we  saw  on 
the  steps  of  the  fountain,  the  cantiniere  stretched 
out,  white  as  snow,  her  beautiful  black  hair  all 
unbound,  in  a  pool  of  blood;  her  little  cask  still  at 
*  The  paper  money  of  the  French  Republic. 


58  MADAME  THERESE 

her  side,  and  her  pale  hands  thrown  to  the  right  and 
left  on  the  wet  stones,  over  which  the  water  flowed. 
Several  corpses  lay  around  her,  and  at  her  feet  was 
the  spaniel  that  I  had  seen  in  the  morning  with  the 
little  drummer, — the  hair  standing  up  on  his  back, 
his  eyes  flashing  and  lips  trembling,  as  he  looked 
at  Spick,  growling  and  shivering.  Notwithstanding 
his  great  courage  and  his  pick-axe,  the  innkeeper 
dared  not  approach,  for  it  was  easy  to  see  that  if 
he  missed  his  blow  the  dog  would  leap  at  his  throat. 

"  What  is  this  ? "  repeated  Uncle  Jacob. 

"  Because  the  dog  remains  here,"  answered  Spick, 
sneeringly,  "  they  say  the  woman  isn't  dead." 

"  They  are  right,"  said  my  uncle,  sharply. 
"  Some  animals  have  more  mind  and  heart  than 
some  men.  Take  yourself  away !  " 

He  pushed  him  aside  with  his  elbow,  went 
to  the  woman,  and  bent  over  her.  The  dog,  in- 
stead of  springing  upon  him,  seemed  to  grow  quiet, 
and  allowed  him  to  do  as  he  would.  The  others 
came  near.  My  uncle  knelt  down,  uncovered  her 
bosom,  and  placed  his  hand  on  her  heart.  No  one 
spoke;  the  silence  was  profound.  It  lasted  nearly 
a  minute,  then  Spick  said: 

"  Ha!  ha!  Let  them  bury  her.  Isn't  it  so,  doc- 
tor?" 


MT  CXCLfi  KNELT  DOW». 


MADAME  THERESE  59 

Uncle  Jacob  rose,  frowning,  and  looked  at  the 
man  sternly,  from  head  to  foot. 

"Wretched  man!  "  said  he,  "on  account  of  a 
few  pints  of  brandy,  for  which  this  poor  woman 
paid  you  as  well  as  she  could,  you  now  wish  to  see 
her  dead,  and  perhaps  buried  alive !  " 

"  Doctor !  "  cried  the  innkeeper,  straightening 
himself  with  an  arrogant  air,  "  do  you  know  that 
there  are  laws,  and  that  " 

"  Silence !  "  interrupted  my  uncle.  "  Your  be- 
havior is  infamous!  "  Then  turning  to  the  others: 
"  Jeffer,  carry  this  woman  into  my  house — she  still 
lives." 

He  threw  a  last  indignant  look  at  Spick,  while 
the  grave-digger  and  his  sons  placed  the  cantiniere 
on  the  litter.  They  went  toward  the  house.  The 
dog  followed  Uncle  Jacob,  pressing  close  to  his 
legs.  As  to  the  innkeeper,  we  heard  him  say  be- 
hind us,  mockingly: 

"  The  woman's  dead !  This  doctor  knows  as 
much  about  it  as  my  pick-axe.  The  woman's 
dead — it  makes  no  difference  whether  she's  buried 
to-day  or  to-morrow.  We'll  see  which  of  us  is 
right." 

As  we  were  crossing  the  square,  I  saw  the  mole- 
catcher  and  Koffel  following  us,  which  re-assured 


60  MADAME  THERESE 

me;  for  since  night  had  come,  a  sort  of  terror  had 
seized  me,  especially  when  near  the  dead  bodies, 
and  I  was  glad  to  have  a  good  many  people  about. 
The  mole-catcher  walked  before  the  litter,  holding 
a  large  torch.  Koffel  kept  near  my  uncle  and  looked 
grave. 

"  These  are  terrible  things,  doctor,"  said  he. 

"  Ah,  is  it  you,  Koffel?  Yes,  yes,  the  genius  of 
evil  is  in  the  air,  the  spirits  of  darkness  are  un- 
chained." 

We  entered  the  little  alley,  which  was  filled  with 
rubbish.  The  mole-catcher  stopped  in  the  door- 
way to  light  Jeffer  and  his  sons,  who  came  forward 
with  heavy  steps.  We  followed  them  into  the  room, 
and  raising  his  torch,  he  said,  in  a  solemn  tone: 

"  Where  are  the  days  of  tranquillity,  the  mo- 
ments of  peace,  repose  and  trust,  after  labor — 
where  are  they,  doctor?  Ah,  they  have  flown  away 
through  all  these  openings!  " 

Then  I  noticed  for  the  first  time  the  desolate 
look  of  our  old  room,  with  its  broken  windows, 
whose  shining  fragments  gleamed  in  the  darkness. 
I  understood  the  mole-catcher's  words,  and  thought 
that  we  were  indeed  unfortunate. 

"Jeffer,  lay  the  woman  on  my  bed,"  said  my 
uncle,  sadly.  "  Our  own  miseries  must  not  make 


MADAME  THERESE  61 


we  are."  And  turning  to  the  mole-catcher:  "  You 
will  stay  and  hold  the  light  for  me,  and  Koffel  will 
help  me." 

The  grave-digger  and  his  sons  having  placed  the 
litter  on  the  floor,  lifted  the  woman  out,  and  put 
her  upon  the  bed  in  the  alcove.  The  mole-catcher 
held  the  torch,  the  reflections  of  which  made  his 
ruddy  face  look  purple.  Uncle  Jacob  gave  some 
kreutzers  to  Jeffer,  who  went  away  with  his  boys. 
Old  Lisbeth  had  come  to  see  what  was  going  on. 
She  trembled  and  dared  not  approach  the  bed,  and 
I  heard  her  repeating  the  Ave  Maria  in  a  low  tone. 
Her  terror  was  beginning  to  infect  me,  when  my 
uncle  cried: 

"  Lisbeth,  what  are  you  thinking  of  ?  In  heaven's 
name,  are  you  crazy?  Isn't  this  woman  like  all 
women,  and  haven't  you  helped  me  in  my  opera- 
tions a  hundred  times?  Come — come — folly  has 
taken  possession  of  you.  Go  heat  some  water,  that's 
all  the  assistance  I  can  hope  for  from  you." 

The  dog  was  sitting  in  front  of  the  alcove,  look- 
ing, through  his  shaggy  hair,  at  the  woman  stretched 
upon  the  bed,  pale  and  motionless  as  a  corpse. 

"  Fritzel,"  said  my  uncle,  "  close  the  shutters; 
we  must  have  less  air.  And  you,  Koffel,  make  a  fire 


62  MADAME   THERESE 

in  the  stove,  for  we  cannot  expect  to  get  any  help 
from  Lisbeth  now.  Ah,  if  amid  so  much  wretched- 
ness we  still  had  the  good  sense  to  keep  somewhat 
calm!  But  all  must  be  in  confusion.  When  the 
devil  starts  out,  no  one  knows  where  he'll  stop." 

He  spoke  in  a  discouraged  tone.  I  ran  out  to 
close  the  shutters,  and  heard  him  fasten  them  in- 
side. Looking  toward  the  fountain,  I  saw  two  more 
carts  laden  with  the  dead.  I  re-entered  the  house, 
shivering.  Koffel  had  lighted  the  fire  which  crac- 
kled in  the  stove.  My  uncle  opened  his  case  of  in- 
struments on  the  table.  The  mole-catcher  stood 
by,  looking  at  the  thousand  shining  little  knives. 
Uncle  Jacob  took  a  probe  and  approached  the  bed, 
putting  aside  the  curtains.  The  mole-catcher  and 
Koffel  followed.  Curiosity  impelled  me  to  watch 
them.  The  candle  lighted  up  the  alcove ;  my  uncle 
had  cut  open  the  cantiniere's  jacket.  Koffel,  with 
a  large  sponge,  bathed  her  breast,  which  was  covered 
with  dark  blood.  The  dog  watched  him  without 
stirring.  Lisbeth  also  had  returned.  She  held  my 
hand,  and  muttered  some  prayer.  No  one  spoke  in 
the  alcove,  and  my  uncle,  hearing  the  old  servant, 
cried,  angrily: 

"Will  you  be  quiet,  foolish  woman!  Come 
mole-catcher,  come,  raise  her  arm." 


MADAME   THERESE  63 

"  A  beautiful  creature,"  said  the  mole-catcher, 
"  still  very  young." 

"  How  pale  she  is!  "  said  Koffel. 

I  went  nearer  and  saw  her  lying  there,  white  as 
snow,  her  head  thrown  back,  and  her  black  hair 
falh'ng  around  her.  The  mole-catcher  held  up  her 
arm,  and  beneath  it,  between  the  breast  and  the  arm- 
pit, appeared  a  bluish  opening  from  which  flowed 
some  drops  of  blood.  Uncle  Jacob,  his  lips  com- 
pressed, probed  this  wound;  the  probe  would  not 
go  in.  I  became  so  interested,  never  having  seen 
anything  of  the  kind,  that  my  whole  soul  was  in 
that  alcove,  and  I  heard  my  uncle  murmur — 

"It  is  strange!" 

At  that  moment  the  woman  breathed  a  long  sigh, 
and  the  dog,  who  had  been  quiet  until  then,  began 
to  cry  in  a  voice  as  lamentable  and  gentle  as  a  human 
being's.  It  made  my  hair  stand  on  end. 

"  Be  silent !  "  cried  the  mole-catcher. 

The  dog  was  silent,  and  my  uncle  said: 

"  Kaise  the  arm  again,  mole-catcher.  Koffel, 
come  here  and  support  the  body." 

Koffel  went  behind  the  bed,  and  raised  the  woman 
by  the  shoulders.  The  probe  immediately  went  in 
very  far.  She  groaned,  and  the  dog  growled. 

"  There,"  cried  my  uncle,  "  she  is  saved.    Hold, 


64  MADAME  THERESE 

Koffel,  see:  the  ball  has  glanced  along  the  ribs,  it 
is  here,  under  the  shoulder.  Do  you  feel  it?  " 

"  Very  plainly." 

Uncle  Jacob  went  out,  and  seeing  me  behind  the 
curtain,  cried: 

"  What  are  you  doing  here? " 

"  I'm  looking." 

"  Good,  now,  he's  looking!  Everything  goes 
wrong." 

He  took  a  knife  from  the  table  and  went  back. 

The  dog  watched  me  with  his  shining  eyes,  which 
disturbed  me.  Suddenly  the  woman  uttered  a  cry, 
and  my  uncle  exclaimed,  joyfully: 

"  See !  it  is  a  pistol-ball.  The  poor  creature 
has  lost  a  great  deal  of  blood,  but  she  will  re- 
cover." 

"  She  must  have  received  that  during  the  great 
charge  of  the  lancers,"  said  Koffel.  "  I  was  at  old 
Krsemer's,  on  the  first  floor,  cleaning  his  clock,  and 
I  saw  that  they  fired  as  they  came  in." 

"  It's  possible,"  answered  my  uncle,  who  now  for 
the  first  time  thought  of  looking  at  the  woman's 
face. 

He  took  the  candle  from  the  mole-catcher,  and 
standing  behind  the  bed,  looked  dreamily  for  some 
seconds  at  the  unfortunate  creature. 


MADAME   THERESE  65 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  she  is  a  beautiful  woman,  and 
has  a  noble  head.  How  sad  that  such  creatures 
should  follow  the  army.  How  much  better  would 
it  be  to  see  them  in  the  bosom  of  an  honest  family, 
surrounded  by  lovely  children,  beside  an  honest  man 
whose  happiness  they  would  make.  What  a  shame! 
After  all,  though,  it  is  the  will  of  God." 

He  went  out,  calling  Lisbeth. 

"  Get  some  of  your  clothes  for  this  woman,  and 
put  them  on  her,"  he  said.  "  Mole-catcher,  Koffel, 
come;  we  will  have  a  glass  of  wine,  for  this  has 
been  a  hard  day  for  us." 

He  went  down  into  the  cellar,  and  returned  just 
as  the  old  servant  came  in  with  the  garments.  Lis- 
beth, seeing  that  the  cantiniere  was  not  dead,  had 
taken  courage;  she  went  into  the  alcove  and  drew 
the  curtains,  while  my  uncle  uncorked  the  bottle 
and  went  to  the  side-board  for  glasses.  The  mole- 
catcher  and  Koffel  seemed  content.  I,  too,  drew 
aear  the  table,  which  was  still  laid,  and  we  finished 
our  supper.  The  dog  watched  us  at  a  distance.  My 
uncle  threw  him  some  pieces  of  bread,  but  he  would 
not  eat  them.  The  church-clock  struck  one. 

"  It  is  half-past  twelve,"  said  Koffel. 

"  No,"    replied   the   mole-catcher,    "  it   is    one 
o'clock.    I  think  it  is  time  for  us  to  go  to  bed." 
5 


66  MADAME   THERESE 

Lisbeth  came  out  from  the  alcove,  and  we  all 
went  in  to  see  the  cantiniere.  She  seemed  to  sleep. 
The  dog  placed  his  fore  paws  on  the  edge  of  the  bed, 
and  looked  at  her  also.  Uncle  Jacob  patted  his  head, 
saying: 

"  Don't  be  afraid;  she  will  get  well,  I  promise 
thee!  " 

The  poor  animal  seemed  to  understand,  and 
•whined  softly.  Then  we  went  out.  My  uncle 
lighted  Koffel  and  the  mole-catcher  to  the  door,  and 
then  said  to  us: 

"  Go  to  bed,  now,  it's  time." 

"  And  you,  doctor?  "  asked  the  old  servant. 

"  I  shall  watch — this  woman's  in  danger,  and 
they  may  also  want  me  in  the  village." 

He  put  a  log  on  the  fire,  and  threw  himself  back 
on  the  arm-chair,  twisting  a  piece  of  paper  to  light 
his  pipe.  Lisbeth  and  I  went  up  to  our  rooms,  but 
it  was  very  late  before  I  could  get  to  sleep,  despite 
my  great  fatigue;  for  every  half -hour  the  rumbling 
of  carts  and  the  reflection  of  torches  on  the  windows, 
told  me  that  the  dead  were  still  passing.  At  length, 
at  daybreak,  all  the  noises  ceased,  and  I  slept 
soundly. 


WHAT  a  sight  the  village  was  the  next  day  when 
each  one  was  trying  to  find  out  what  remained,  and 
what  he  had  lost.  They  found  that  a  great  number 
of  Republicans,  lancers,  and  Croats  had  entered  the 
houses  through  the  back  doors,  and  ransacked  them. 
Then  there  was  general  indignation,  and  I  felt  that 
the  mole-catcher  was  right  in  saying: 

"  The  days  of  peace  and  quiet  have  flown  away 
through  these  openings." 

All  the  doors  and  windows  were  thrown  open 
so  the  havoc  might  be  seen;  the  street  was  filled 
with  furniture,  vehicles,  cattle,  and  men  who  were 
exclaiming, 

"Ah,  the  beggars!  Ah,  the  robbers!  They've 
taken  everything !  " 

One  was  looking  for  his  ducks,  another  for  his 
chickens,  another  found  under  his  bed  a  pair  of  old 
shoes  instead  of  his  boots,  a  fourth,  finding  his  chim- 
ney-place empty,  where  sausages  and  pieces  of  bacon 
had  hung  the  morning  before,  went  into  a  terrible 
67 


68  MADAME   THERESE 

passion;  the  women  raised  their  hands  to  heaven  in 
despair,  and  the  girls  seemed  stupefied.  Butter, 
eggs,  tobacco,  potatoes,  even  linen — had  all  been 
stolen.  The  more  they  looked,  the  more  they  missed. 
The  greatest  rage  was  felt  against  the  Croats,  for 
after  the  general  had  passed,  they,  no  longer  fearing 
that  they  might  be  complained  of,  had  rushed  into 
the  houses  like  a  band  of  famished  wolves,  and  God 
knows  how  much  had  been  given  them  to  induce 
them  to  go,  without  reckoning  what  they  had  taken. 

It  is  very  unfortunate  that  old  Germany  has  sol- 
diers from  whom  she  has  more  to  fear  than  from  the 
French.  The  Lord  preserve  us  from  ever  again 
needing  their  aid.  We  children,  Hans  Aden,  Frantz 
Sepel,  Nickel,  Johann,  and  I,  went  from  door  to 
door,  looking  at  the  broken  tiles  and  shutters,  and 
unroofed  sheds,  and  picking  up  scraps,  papers  of 
cartridges,  and  balls  flattened  against  the  walls.  "We 
enjoyed  these  treasures  so  much,  that  we  did  not 
think  of  returning  home  before  nightfall.  Toward 
two  o'clock  we  met  Zapheri  Schmouck,  the  basket- 
maker's  son,  who  held  up  his  red  head,  and  seemed 
prouder  than  usual.  He  had  something  hidden  un- 
der his  blouse,  and  when  we  asked, 

"  What  have  you  got  there?  "  he  showed  us  the 
end  of  a  great  horse-pistol. 


MADAME   THERESE  69 

Then  we  all  followed  him. 

He  marched  in  the  midst  of  us  like  a  general; 
we  said  to  every  boy  we  met,  "  He's  got  a  pistol," 
and  the  new-comer  would  join  the  troop. 

We  would  not  have  left  Schmouck  for  an  empire. 
It  seemed  to  us  that  the  glory  of  his  pistol  was  re- 
flected upon  us. 

Such  are  children,  and  such  are  men! 

Each  boasted  of  the  dangers  he  had  incurred  dur- 
ing the  great  battle. 

"  I  heard  the  balls  whistle,"  said  Frantz  Sepel, 
"  two  of  them  came  into  our  kitchen." 

"  I  saw  the  general  of  the  lancers  galloping,  in 
his  red  cap,"  cried  Hans  Aden,  "  that  was  much 
more  terrible  than  hearing  the  balls  whistle." 

What  elated  me  most  was  that  the  Republican 
commander  had  given  me  the  cake,  saying:  "  Eat 
this  boldly !  "  I  thought  myself  worthy  of  having  a 
pistol,  like  Zapheri; — but  nobody  would  believe  me. 

As  we  passed  the  steps  of  the  Town  Hall 
Schmouck  cried: 

"  Come  and  see !  " 

We  mounted  the  grand  staircase  behind  him,  and 
stopping  before  the  door  of  the  council-chamber, 
which  was  pierced  by  a  square  opening  as  large  as 
one's  hand,  he  said: 


70  MADAME  THERESE 

"  Look — the  dead  men's  clothes  are  there.  Jeffer 
and  the  burgomaster  brought  them  in  a  cart,  this 
morning," 

We  remained  more  than  an  hour  looking  at  these 
clothes,  climbing  on  each  other's  shoulders,  and 
whispering: 

"  Let  me  look  now,  Hans  Aden — it's  my  turn," 
etc. 

The  clothes  were  piled  up  in  the  middle  of  the 
large,  deserted  room,  under  the  dim  light  of  two 
high  grated  windows.  There  were  the  Republican 
hats  and  lancers'  caps,  belts  and  pouches,  blue  coats, 
and  red  cloaks,  sabres,  and  pistols.  The  guns  were 
placed  against  the  walls  on  the  right,  and  further 
on  we  saw  a  row  of  lances. 

The  sight  of  them  gave  me  a  chill,  and  I  have 
never  forgotten  them. 

At  the  end  of  an  hour,  when  night  came,  one  of 
the  boys  suddenly  became  frightened,  and  ran  down 
the  stairs,  crying  in  a  loud  voice: 

"Here  they  are!" 

Then  all  the  party  rushed  down  the  steps,  falling 
over  each  other  in  the  darkness.  It  is  a  wonder  that 
we  did  not  break  our  necks,  so  great  was  our  terror. 
I  was  the  last;  and  although  my  heart  beat  vio- 
lently, I  turned  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  to  look 


MADAME   THERESE  71 

back.  It  was  nearly  dark  in  the  vestibule ;  through 
a  little  window  on  the  right,  a  faint  ray  of  light  fell 
on  the  dark  steps.  Not  a  sound  disturbed  the  si- 
lence under  the  sombre  vault.  The  cries  in  the 
street  died  away  in  the  distance.  I  began  to  fear 
that  my  uncle  would  be  anxious  about  me,  and  went 
home  alone,  not  without  looking  around  again;  for 
it  seemed  to  me  that  stealthy  steps  were  following 
me,  and  I  dared  not  run. 

I  stopped  before  the  inn  of  the  Two  Keys,  whose 
windows  shone  in  the  darkness  of  the  night.  The 
noise  of  the  drinkers  reassured  me.  I  looked 
through  the  little  opening  in  the  door,  into  the  large 
room,  where  there  was  the  hum  of  many  voices,  and 
saw  Koffel,  the  mole-catcher,  M.  Richter,  and  many 
others  seated  at  the  deal  tables,  bending  over  pitch- 
ers and  goblets.  The  angular  figure  of  M.  Richter, 
in  his  hunting-jacket  and  leather  cap,  was  ges- 
ticulating, under  the  hanging  lamp,  in  the  gray 
smoke. 

"  Behold  these  famous  Republicans,"  said  he, 
"  these  terrible  men  who  are  going  to  upset  the 
world.  The  glorious  shadow  of  the  Field  Mar- 
shal "Wurmser  is  sufficient  to  scatter  them.  You've 
seen  them  turn  their  backs,  and  stretch  their  legs! 
How  many  times  have  I  told  you  that  their  great 


72  MADAME   THERESE 

enterprise  would  end  in  an  explosion?  Mole-catch- 
er, Koffel,  didn't  I  saj  so  ?  " 

"  Yes,  you  said  so,"  replied  the  mole-catcher, 
"  but  that's  no  reason  why  you  should  talk  so  loud. 
Come,  M.  Richter,  sit  down  and  order  a  bottle  of 
wine;  Koffel  and  I've  paid  for  ours.  That's  the 
principal  thing." 

M.  Eichter  sat  down,  and  I  went  home.  It 
was  about  half-past  seven  o'clock.  The  passage 
was  swept,  and  the  window-panes  reset.  I  went 
at  once  to  the  kitchen,  and  Lisbeth  seeing  me, 
cried: 

"  Oh,  here  he  is."  She  opened  the  door  and 
said,  in  a  lower  tone,  "  Doctor,  the  child's  come !  " 

"  Very  well,"  said  my  uncle,  who  was  seated  at 
the  table,  "  let  him  come  in." 

I  was  beginning  to  speak  loud. 

"Hush!  "  said  he,  pointing  to  the  alcove,  "sit 
down;  you  must  have  a  good  appetite." 

"  Yes,  uncle." 

"  Where  do  you  come  from?  " 

"  I've  been  to  see  the  village." 

"Very  well,  Fritzel;  you've  made  me  uneasy, 
but  I'm  glad  you've  witnessed  these  horrors." 

Lisbeth  brought  me  a  good  plate  of  soup,  and 
while  I  ate,  he  added — 


MADAME   THERESE  73 

"  Now,  you  know  what  war  is.  Remember  these 
things,  Fritzel,  to  curse  them.  It  is  a  good  lesson. 
What  we  see  in  our  youth,  remains  with  us  all  our 
lives." 

He  spoke  to  himself  rather  than  to  me; — I  was 
too  much  occupied  with  my  supper  to  attend.  After 
soup,  Lisbeth  gave  me  meat  and  vegetables;  but 
just  as  I  was  taking  my  fork,  I  saw  a  motionless 
creature  sitting  near  me  on  the  floor,  watching  me. 
This  startled  me. 

"  Don't  be  afraid,  Fritzel,"  said  my  uncle,  smil- 
ing. 

I  looked  again  and  saw  that  it  was  the  cantiniere's 
dog.  He  was  sitting  gravely,  with  upturned  nose 
and  hanging  ears,  observing  me  attentively. 

"  Give  him  some  of  your  supper,  and  you  will 
soon  be  good  friends." 

He  called  the  dog,  who  came  and  seated  himself 
near  his  chair,  seeming  well  pleased  with  the  little 
pats  my  uncle  gave  him  on  the  head.  He  licked  my 
plate  clean,  then  looked  at  me  again  seriously.  Sup- 
per was  nearly  over  and  I  was  just  going  to  rise  from 
the  table,  when  a  confused  muttering  was  heard  in 
the  alcove.  My  uncle  listened  ;  the  woman  was 
speaking  extremely  fast  and  low.  Those  confused, 
mysterious  words,  in  the  midst  of  the  silence,  moved 


74  MADAME  THERESE 

me  more  than  all  the  rest.  I  felt  that  I  turned  pale. 
Uncle  Jacob,  his  head  bent  forward,  looked  at  me, 
but  his  thoughts  were  elsewhere  ;  he  was  listening. 
Among  the  many  words  she  uttered,  a  few  were 
very  distinct. 

"  My  father — Jean — killed — all — all — mycoun- 
try  !  » 

I  saw  that  my  uncle  was  much  troubled  ;  his  lips 
trembled.  He  took  the  lamp  and  approached  the 
bed.  Lisbeth  entered,  to  clear  the  table.  He 
turned  to  her  and  said  : 

"  See,  fever  has  set  in,"  and  he  drew  aside  the 
curtains.  She  followed.  I  did  not  move  from  my 
chair.  I  was  no  longer  hungry.  The  woman  was 
silent.  I  saw  my  uncle's  and  Lisbeth's  shadows  on 
the  curtains.  He  held  the  woman's  arm.  The  dog 
was  in  the  alcove  with  them.  I  was  alone  in  the 
dark  room,  and  felt  afraid.  The  cantiniere  spoke 
again  more  loudly  ;  then  the  room  seemed  to  grow 
darker,  and  I  drew  near  the  light.  But  at  that  mo- 
ment there  was  a  struggle  ;  Lisbeth,  who  was  hold- 
ing the  lamp,  recoiled,  and  the  woman,  very  pale, 
with  wide  open  eyes,  half  rose,  crying  : 

"  Jean — Jean — take  care — I'm  coming  !  "  Then 
she  uttered  a  great  cry — "  Long  live  the  Republic!" 
and  fell  back. 


MADAME   THERESE  75 

My  uncle  came  out,  exclaiming  in  great  agita- 
tion : 

"  Lisbeth,  quick,  quick,  go  upstairs  in  the  closet 
— the  gray  vial  with  a  glass  stopper — hurry!  " 

He  re-entered  the  alcove.  Lisbeth  ran  upstairs; 
I  held  fast  to  my  uncle's  coat.  The  dog  growled  ; 
the  woman  was  stretched  out  as  if  dead.  Lisbeth 
returned  with  the  vial.  Uncle  Jacob  looked  at  it, 
and  said,  quickly, 

"  That's  it — a  spoon  !  " 

I  ran  to  get  my  spoon.  He  wiped  it,  poured  a 
few  drops  into  it,  and  raising  the  woman's  head 
made  her  swallow  them,  saying,  with  extreme  gen- 
tleness, 

"  Come,  come,  courage,  my  child — courage  !  " 

I  had  never  heard  him  speak  in  a  voice  so  sweet, 
so  tender — it  touched  my  heart.  The  cantiniere 
sighed  gently.  My  uncle  laid  her  back  upon  the 
bed,  raising  her  pillow.  Then  he  came  out,  looking 
very  pale,  and  said  to  us  : 

"  Go  to  bed,  leave  me — I'm  going  to  watch." 

"  But,  doctor,"  said  Lisbeth,  "  last  night  " 

"  Go  to  bed,"  repeated  he,  impatiently.  "  I 
haven't  time  to  listen  to  your  babbling.  For 
heaven's  sake  leave  me  in  peace — this  may  become 
serious  !  " 


76  MADAME  THERESE 

We  felt  that  lie  must  be  obeyed. 

As  we  went  upstairs,  Lisbeth  said, 

"  Did  you  see  that  unhappy  creature,  Fritzel? 
Perhaps  she's  going  to  die.  Yet  she  is  still  think- 
ing of  that  devilish  Eepublic  !  Those  people  are 
real  savages.  All  that  we  can  do  is  to  pray  to  God 
to  pardon  them." 

Then  she  began  to  pray.  I  knew  not  what  to 
think  of  all  this,  but  after  having  run  about  so  much, 
and  wallowed  in  dirt,  once  in  bed  I  slept  so  soundly 
that  not  even  the  return  of  the  Republicans  them- 
selves, with  all  their  platoons  and  battalion-firing, 
would  have  waked  me  before  ten  the  next  morning. 


VI 

THE  day  after  the  departure  of  the  Republicans, 
everybody  in  the  village  knew  that  there  was  a 
French  woman  at  Uncle  Jacob's  house,  who  had  re- 
ceived a  pistol-shot,  and  was  recovering  very  slowly. 
But  the  roofs  of  the  houses,  the  doors  and  windows 
must  be  repaired,  and  each  had  enough  business  of 
his  own  to  attend  to,  without  troubling  himself 
about  the  affairs  of  others,  and  it  was  not  until  the 
third  day,  when  things  were  nearly  all  put  in  order 
again,  that  people  began  to  think  about  the  woman. 
Then  Joseph  Spick  spread  the  news  that  the  French 
woman  had  become  raving,  and  cried,  "  Long  live 
the  Republic  !  "  in  a  terrible  manner. 

The  scoundrel  stood  in  the  doorway  of  his  inn,  his 
arms  crossed,  leaning  against  the  wall,  pretending  to 
smoke  his  pipe,  and  saying  to  the  passers-by  : 

"  Nickel — Yokel — listen  ! — listen  how  she 
screams  !  Isn't  it  abominable?  Ought  we  to  al- 
low this?" 

Uncle  Jacob,  the  best  man  in  the  world,  was  so  in- 
77 


78  MADAME  THERESE 

dignant  with  Spick,  that  I  heard  him  say  several 
times,  that  he  deserved  to  be  hung.  Unhappily,  we 
could  not  deny  that  the  cantiniere  spoke  of  France, 
of  the  Republic,  and  other  things  contrary  to  good 
order.  These  ideas  always  returned  to  her  mind, 
and  we  were  the  more  embarrassed  because  all  the 
gossips,  all  the  old  Salomes  of  the  village  came  in 
procession  to  our  house  ;  one  with  her  broom  under 
her  arm,  and  petticoat  tucked  up, — another  with  her 
knitting-needles  in  her  hair,  and  cap  awry  ;  a  third 
bringing  her  spinning-wheel,  with  a  sentimental  air, 
as  if  to  spin  in  the  chimney-corner.  This  one  came 
to  borrow  a  gridiron,  that  one  to  buy  a  pot  of  curdled 
milk,  or  to  ask  for  a  little  yeast,  to  make  bread. 
What  a  shame  !  Our  passage  was  two  inches  deep 
in  mud  from  their  wooden  shoes.  And  to  hear  them 
chatter  while  Lisbeth  washed  her  dishes,  or  watched 
her  pots  ;  to  see  them  come  in,  courtesying,  and 
playing  the  agreeable  ! 

"  Ah  !  good  day,  M'lle  Lisbeth.  How  long  it  is 
since  I've  seen  you  !  " 

"  Ah,  it's  M'lle  Oursoula  !  God  of  heaven  !  how 
glad  I  am  to  see  you.  Do  sit  down,  M'lle  Our- 
soula  !  " 

"  Oh,  you're  too  good,  too  good  !  M'lle  Lisbeth  * 
What  beautiful  weather,  this  morning  !  " 


MADAME   THERESE 


79 


"  Yes,  M'lle  Oursoula — very  fine  weather — deli- 
cious weather  for  rheumatism." 

"  Delicious  for  colds,  also." 

"  Ah,  yes  !  and  for  all  kinds  of  sickness.  How 
is  monsieur  le  cure's  rheumatism,  M'lle  Oursoula?  " 

"  Oh,  Lord  !  How  should  it  be?  Sometimes  on 
one  side — sometimes  on  the  other.  Yesterday  in 
the  shoulder — to-day  in  the  back.  So  it  moves 
about.  Always  suffering,  always  suffering  !  " 

"  Ah,  I'm  sorry  to  hear  it — very  sorry  !  " 

"  But  apropos,  M'lle  Lisbeth,  you'll  call  me  very 
curious — they  are  talking  about  it  all  over  the  vil- 
lage ;  is  your  French  lady  still  ill  ?  " 

"  Ah,  M'lle  Oursoula,  don't  speak  of  it  ;  we've 
had  such  a  night — such  a  night  !  " 

"Is  it  possible?  That  poor  lady  is  no  better? 
What  do  I  hear?  " 

And  they  would  clasp  their  hands,  and  bend  for- 
ward with  an  air  of  great  commiseration,  rolling 
their  eyes,  and  shaking  their  heads. 

The  first  two  days,  my  uncle,  thinking  this  would 
end  when  people's  curiosity  was  gratified,  said  noth- 
ing. But  seeing  that  it  still  continued,  he  entered 
the  kitchen  abruptly,  one  fine  morning,  when  his 
patient  had  a  great  deal  of  fever  and  said  to  the  old 
women,  angrily  : 


8o  MADAME  THERESE 

"  What  do  you  come  here  for?  Why  don't  you 
stay  at  home?  Have  you  no  work  in  your  houses? 
You  ought  to  be  ashamed  to  pass  your  lives  in 
chattering  like  old  magpies,  and  giving  yourselves 
the  airs  of  great  ladies,  when  you  are  nothing 
but  servants.  It  is  ridiculous,  and  I'm  very  tired 
of  it!" 

"  But,"  answered  one,  "  I  came  to  buy  a  pot  of 
milk." 

"  Does  it  take  two  hours  to  buy  a  pot  of  milk?  " 
replied  he,  really  angry.  "  Lisbeth,  give  her  the 
pot  of  milk,  and  let  her  go  with  the  others.  I'm 
tired  of  all  this.  I  shall  allow  no  one  to  come  here 
to  spy,  and  take  false  news  from  my  house  to  spread 
over  the  country.  Go,  and  don't  come  here  agaii .." 

The  gossips  went  off  quite  ashamed. 

That  day  my  uncle  had  a  great  discussion.  M. 
Richter  ventured  to  say  to  him  that  he  was  wrong 
to  interest  himself  so  much  in  strangers,  who  came 
into  the  country  to  pillage,  and  above  all  in  this 
woman,  who  could  not  be  of  much  account,  as  she 
had  followed  the  soldiers.  He  listened  coldly,  and 
answered  : 

"  M.  Richter,  when  I  do  a  humane  act,  I  do  riot 
ask  the  person,  '  From  what  country  are  you?  Have 
you  the  same  belief  as  I?  Are  you  rich  or  poor? 


MADAME   THERESE  81 

Can  you  pay  me  for  what  I  have  done  for  you? '  I 
follow  the  impulse  of  my  heart,  and  the  rest  matters 
little.  Whether  this  woman  be  French  or  German, 
whether  she  has  Republican  ideas  or  not,  whether 
she  has  followed  the  soldiers  of  her  own  accord,  or 
been  forced  to  do  so  by  necessity,  does  not  trouble 
me.  I  saw  that  she  was  dying  ;  my  duty  was  to 
save  her  life.  And  now  my  duty  is,  with  the  help 
of  God,  to  go  on  with  what  I  have  undertaken.  As 
to  you,  M.  Bichter,  I  know  you  are  an  egotist  ;  you 
do  not  love  your  fellow-creatures.  Instead  of  ren- 
dering them  a  service,  you  seek  to  gain  some  per- 
sonal advantage  from  them.  This  is  the  foundation 
of  your  opinion  on  all  matters.  And  as  such  opin- 
ions make  me  angry,  I  beg  that  you  will  not  enter 
my  house  again." 

He  opened  the  door,  and  as  M.  Bichter  wished  to 
reply,  without  listening  to  him,  he  politely  took  him 
by  the  arm,  and  put  him  out.  The  mole-catcher, 
Koffel,  and  I  were  present,  and  Uncle  Jacob's  firm- 
ness on  this  occasion  astonished  us  ;  we  had  never 
seen  him  more  calm  and  resolute.  He  only  kept 
the  mole-catcher  and  Koffel  for  his  friends.  Each 
in  turn  watched  with  the  patient,  which  did  not  pre- 
vent them  from  attending  to  their  business  during 
the  day. 
6 


82  MADAME  THERESE 

From  that  time  tranquillity  was  re-established  in 
our  house. 

One  morning,  on  awaking,  I  found  that  winter 
had  come.  Its  white  light  filled  my  little  room. 
Great  snow-flakes  were  falling  from  the  sky  in 
myriads — whirling  against  my  window-panes.  All 
was  still  outside  ;  not  a  soul  was  in  the  street  ; 
everybody's  doors  were  closed  ;  the  chickens  were 
quiet  ;  the  dogs  looked  out  from  their  kennels,  and 
in  the  neighboring  thickets  the  poor  green-finches, 
shivering  under  their  ruffled  feathers,  uttered  that 
plaintive  cry  of  distress  which  lasts  until  spring.  I, 
with  my  elbow  on  my  pillow,  and  my  eyes  dazzled, 
looked  at  the  snow  piled  up  on  the  edge  of  the  little 
windows,  and  pictured  to  myself  past  winters — the 
light  from  our  great  stove  in  the  evenings,  dancing 
on  the  floor,  the  mole-catcher,  Koifel,  and  my  uncle 
bending  over  it,  smoking  their  pipes  and  talking  of 
unimportant  matters.  I  heard  Lisbeth's  wheel  buz- 
zing in  the  silence  like  the  downy  wings  of  a  moth, 
and  her  foot  keeping  time  to  the  song  that  the  green 
log  was  singing  on  the  hearth.  Without,  I  pictured 
to  myself  the  slides  on  the  river,  the  sleighing  par- 
ties, the  battle  with  snow-balls,  the  shouts  of  laugh- 
ter, the  broken  window-panes,  the  old  grandmother 
calling  after  us,  while  the  band  scampered  away. 


All  this  came  into  my  mind  in  a  moment,  and  half 
sad,  half  glad,  I  said  to  myself,  "  It's  winter." 
Then  thinking  it  would  be  pleasant  to  be  sitting  in 
front  of  the  fire,  eating  some  of  Lisbeth's  good  por- 
ridge, I  sprang  from  my  bed,  and  dressed  myself 
quickly,  feeling  very  chilly.  Without  taking  time 
to  put  on  both  sleeves  of  my  jacket,  I  went  rolling 
downstairs  like  a  ball.  Lisbeth  was  sweeping  the 
yard.  The  kitchen  door  was  open,  but  despite  the 
beautiful  fire  which  danced  around  the  pots,  I  hur- 
ried into  the  sitting-room.  Uncle  Jacob  had  just 
returned  from  a  visit.  His  great  riding-coat  lined 
with  foxes'  fur,  and  his  otter-skin  cap,  hung  on  the 
wall,  and  his  large  boots  were  near  the  stove.  He 
was  taking  a  glass  of  kirsclienwasser*  with  the 
mole-catcher,  who  had  been  watching  that  night. 
Both  seemed  in  good  spirits. 

"  So,  mole-catcher,"  said  my  uncle,   "  the  night 
has  passed  well  ?  " 

"Very  well,  doctor;  we've  all  slept;  the  wom- 
an in  her  bed,  I  in  the  arm-chair,  and  the  dog 
behind  the  curtain.  ISTobody  has  stirred.  This 
morning,  on  opening  the  window,  I  saw  the  country 
as  white  as  Hans  "Wurst,  when  he  comes  out  of  his 
bag  of  flour  ;  all  had  been  done  without  a  sound. 
*  Cherry-brandy. 


84  MADAME  THERESE 

As  I  opened  the  window,  you  were  coming  up  the 
street,  and  I  wanted  to  call  out  good  morning,  but 
the  woman  was  still  asleep,  and  I  didn't  want  to 
wake  her." 

"  Well,  well,  you  did  right.  To  your  health, 
mole-catcher." 

"  To  yours,  doctor." 

They  drained  their  little  glasses  at  a  draught,  and 
put  them  on  the  table,  smiling. 

"  All  goes  well,"  said  Uncle  Jacob  ;  "  the  wound 
is  closing  ;  the  fever  diminishes,  but  strength  is  still 
wanting  ;  the  poor  thing  has  lost  too  much  blood. 
But  at  last,  at  last,  that  will  come  right." 

I  sat  down  near  the  stove.  The  dog  came  from 
the  alcove,  and  began  to  caress  my  uncle,  who  said, 
looking  at  him  : 

"  What  a  good  animal  !  See,  mole-catcher, 
wouldn't  you  say  that  he  understands  us?  Doesn't 
he  seem  more  joyous  this  morning?  I  cannot  but 
believe  that  these  animals  understand  some  things 
very  well  ;  if  they  have  less  judgment  than  we,  they 
often  have  more  heart." 

"  That's  true,"  said  the  mole-catcher.  "For  my 
part,  all  the  time  the  fever  lasted,  I  would  look  at 
the  dog  and  think  '  He's  sad  ;  that's  a  bad  sign. 
He's  gay  ;  that's  a  good  sign  ! '  On  my  honor,  I 


MADAME   THERESE  85 

agree  with  you,  doctor.  I  have  great  confidence  in 
the  understanding  of  animals." 

"  Come,  mole-catcher,  take  another  little  glass, 
it's  cold  out  of  doors,  and  the  old  kirschenwasser 
warms  you  like  a  ray  of  sunlight."  He  opened  the 
side-board,  took  out  a  loaf  of  bread  and  two  knives, 
and  said,  "  Let  us  have  a  crust." 

The  mole-catcher  nodded  assent.  My  uncle,  per- 
ceiving me,  said,  smilingly  : 

"  Well,  Fritzel,  snow-balls  and  slides  have  come 
again.  Doesn't  that  please  you?  " 

"  Yes,  uncle." 

"  Yes,  yes,  amuse  yourself.  One  is  never  hap- 
pier than  at  your  age,  my  boy.  But  above  all,  don't 
make  your  snow-balls  too  hard.  Those  who  make 
them  too  hard  don't  want  to  amuse  themselves,  they 
want  to  do  harm  ;  they're  bad  boys." 

"  Ah,  doctor,"  said  the  mole-catcher,  laughing, 
"  I  always  made  my  balls  too  hard." 

"  And  see  how  wrong  you  were  ;  that  proves  that 
there  was  a  spice  of  malice  in  your  nature.  Hap- 
pily reason  has  conquered  that.  I'm  sure  you  re- 
pent of  having  made  your  balls  too  hard." 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  the  mole-catcher,  not  knowing 
what  to  reply  ;  "  although  the  rest  made  theirs  too 
hard,  too." 


86  MADAME  THERESE 

"  We  should  never  trouble  ourselves  about  oth- 
ers. We  must  do  what  kindness  commands.  All 
men  are  naturally  good  and  just ;  but  bad  example 
leads  them  astray." 

While  we  were  talking,  some  words  were  heard 
in  the  alcove.  We  all  became  silent,  and  lis- 
tened. 

"  That,  mole-catcher,  is  not  the  voice  of  de- 
lirium," said  Uncle  Jacob.  "  It's  a  weak  but  nat- 
ural voice." 

He  rose  and  drew  aside  the  curtains.  The  mole- 
catcher  and  I  stood  behind  him,  stretching  forward 
our  heads.  The  woman,  very  pale  and  thin,  seemed 
to  be  asleep  ;  we  could  hardly  hear  her  breathe. 
But  in  a  moment  she  opened  her  eyes,  and  looked 
from  one  to  another  in  astonishment,  then  around 
the  alcove,  then  at  the  windows  white  with  snow,  at 
the  chest  of  drawers,  the  old  clock,  and  at  the  dog, 
who  stood  with  his  paws  on  the  edge  of  the  bed.  At 
length  she  closed  her  eyes,  and  my  uncle  said,  in  a 
very  low  tone  : 

"  She  has  come  to  herself." 

"Yes,"  said  the  mole-catcher,  "  she  has  seen  us; 
she  doesn't  know  us,  and  now  she's  thinking  of  what 
she  has  just  seen." 

We  were  going  to  withdraw,  when  she  re-opened 


MADAME  THERESE  87 

her  eyes,  and  made  an  effort  to  speak.  But  Uncle 
Jacob,  raising  his  voice,  said,  kindly  : 

"  Don't  agitate  yourself,  madame;  be  calm;  have 
no  uneasiness.  You  are  with  those  who  will  let  you 
want  for  nothing.  You've  been  ill,  but  you're  get- 
ting better.  But  I  beg  you  to  have  confidence — 
you're  among  friends — true  friends." 

She  looked  at  him  with  her  large  black  eyes,  while 
he  spoke.  We  could  see  that  she  understood  him. 
But  notwithstanding  his  advice,  she  tried  to  speak 
again,  and  said  in  a  low  voice  : 

"  The  drummer — the  little  drummer." 

My  uncle,  looking  at  the  mole-catcher,  asked  : 

"  Do  you  understand  her?  " 

And  the  mole-catcher,  putting  his  hand  to  his 
head,  answered  : 

"  A  remnant  of  fever,  doctor — a  little  remnant — 
it'll  pass  off." 

But  the  woman  in  a  loud  voice  repeated — 

"  Jean — the  little  drummer." 

I  was  standing  on  tip-toe,  very  attentive,  and  it 
suddenly  occurred  to  me  that  she  was  speaking  of 
the  little  drummer  whom  I  had  seen  lying  in  our 
shed,  the  day  of  the  great  battle.  I  remembered 
how  she  watched  him  from  the  window,  as  she 
mended  his  little  pantaloons,  and  said  : 


88  MADAME  THERESE 

"  Uncle,  perhaps  she  is  speaking  of  the  little 
drummer  who  was  with  the  Republicans." 

The  poor  woman  at  once  tried  to  turn  toward  nie. 

"  Yes,  yes  !  "  cried  she.     "  Jean — my  brother!" 

"  Be  quiet,  madame,"  said  my  uncle.  "  Don't 
move  ;  your  wound  might  re-open.  Mole- catcher, 
bring  a  chair."  And  taking  me  under  the  arms,  he 
placed  me  on  the  chair  before  her,  saying,  '  Tell 
inadame  what  you  know,  Fritzel.  Do  you  remem- 
ber the  little  drummer? " 

"  Oh,  yes  !  the  morning  of  the  battle  he  was  ly- 
ing under  our  shed  ;  the  dog  was  at  his  feet.  He 
was  asleep.  I  remember  him  well  !  "  answered  I, 
much  disturbed,  for  she  was  looking  at  me  as  if  she 
would  search  my  very  soul — just  as  she  had  looked 
at  Uncle  Jacob. 

"  And  then,  Fritzel?" 

"  Then  he  was  with  the  other  drummers  in  the 
midst  of  the  battalion,  when  the  Croats  came.  And 
at  last,  when  they  had  set  the  street  on  fire,  and  the 
Republicans  were  leaving,  I  saw  him  in  the  rear." 

"  Wounded?  "  asked  the  woman,  in  a  voice  so 
faint  that  we  could  hardly  hear  it. 

"  Oh,  no  !  he  had  his  drum  on  his  shoulder,  and 
was  crying  as  he  marched,  and  a  larger  boy  was  say- 
ing to  him,  *  Courage,  little  Jean, — courage  ! '  but 


MADAME  THERESE  89 

he  didn't  seem  to  hear  him — his  cheeks  were  wet 
with  tears." 

"  You  are  sure  you  saw  him  go  away  with  them, 
Fritzel?"  asked  my  uncle. 

"  Yes,  uncle  ;  he  made  me  sorry,  and  I  watched 
him  to  the  end  of  the  village." 

The  cantiniere  closed  her  eyes,  and  sobbed  quiet- 
ly. Tears  flowed  down  her  face,  one  ofter  another, 
in  silence.  It  was  very  sad,  and  uncle  said,  softly  : 

"  Get  down,  Fritzel  ;  we  must  let  her  cry  without 
hindrance." 

But  as  I  was  getting  down,  she  stretched  out  her 
hand,  and  drew  me  to  her,  murmuring  something. 
Uncle  Jacob  understood  her,  and  asked  : 

"  Do  you  wish  to  kiss  the  child?  " 

"  Yes." 

He  held  me  toward  her.  She  kissed  me,  sobbing. 
Then  I  too  began  to  cry. 

"  Well,  well  !  "  said  my  uncle.  "  You  must  be 
calm  now,  madame  ;  you  must  try  to  sleep  if  you 
would  get  well.  You'll  see  your  little  brother 
again.  Courage  !  " 

He  took  me  out,  and  closed  the  curtains.  The 
mole-catcher  was  walking  up  and  down  the  room 
with  long  strides.  His  face  was  red,  and  he  said  : 

"  That's  a  good  woman,  doctor — an  honest  worn- 


9©  MADAME   THERESE 

an — let  her  be  a  Republican,  or  what  you  will 
They  who  think  the  contrary  are  no  better  than 
scoundrels  !  " 

"  Yes,  she  has  a  generous  nature  ;  I  knew  it  at 
once  by  her  face.  It  is  fortunate  that  Fritzel  re- 
members the  child.  The  poor  woman  was  very 
anxious.  I  understand  now  why  the  name  of 
Jean  constantly  recurred  in  her  delirium.  It  is  all 
right,  mole-catcher,  it  is  all  right — tears  will  soothe 
her." 

They  went  out  together.  I  heard  them  still  talk- 
ing about  her  outside  the  door.  And  as  I  sat  near 
the  stove,  wiping  my  eyes  on  my  sleeve,  I  suddenly 
saw  the  dog  near  me,  looking  at  me  with  great  gen- 
tleness. He  put  his  paw  on  my  knee,  and  began  to 
caress  me.  For  the  first  time  I  took  his  great 
shaggy  head  between  my  hands  without  fear.  It 
seemed  as  if  we  had  been  friends  for  a  long  time, 
and  that  I  had  never  been  afraid  of  him.  Raising 
my  eyes,  I  saw  Uncle  Jacob,  who  had  just  come  in, 
and  was  watching  me,  smiling. 

"  You  see,  Fritzel,  that  the  poor  animal  loves  you. 
He'll  follow  you  now,  for  he's  found  out  that  you 
have  a  kind  heart." 

And  so  it  was  ;  from  that  day  the  dog  no  longer 
refused  to  accompany  me  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  fol- 


MADAME   THERESE  gi 

lowed  me  gravely  all  over  the  village,  which  made 
me  prouder  than  Zapheri  Schmouck  with  his  lan- 
cers' pistol.  He  would  sit  near  my  chair,  to  eat 
from  my  plate,  and  do  whatever  I  wished. 


vn 

THE  snow  continued  to  fall  that  day  and  the  f ol- 
lowing  night.  Every  one  thought  that  the  moun- 
tain roads  would  be  blocked  up,  and  that  we  should 
see  no  more  of  the  lancers  nor  the  Republicans  ;  but 
a  little  incident  happened  which  served  to  show  the 
sad  consequences  of  war,  and  to  make  men  reflect 
on  the  mishaps  of  this  world. 

It  was  the  day  after  that  on  which  our  patient  had 
recovered  her  reason,  between  eight  and  nine  in  the 
morning.  The  kitchen  door  was  open  so  that  the 
stove  might  warm  the  sitting-room.  I  was  stand- 
ing by  Lisbeth,  who  was  churning  butter  near  the 
hearth.  Turning  my  head  a  little  I  could  see  my 
uncle  sitting  by  the  window,  which  was  white  with 
snow,  reading  the  almanac  and  smiling  occasionally. 

The  dog  Scipio  was  near  me,  grave  and  motion- 
less, and  as  I  every  minute  tasted  the  cream,  which 
was  coming  out  of  the  churn,  he  gaped  in  a  melan- 
choly manner. 

"  But  Fritzel,"  said  Lisbeth,  "  what  are  you 
92 


MADAME   THERESE  93 

thinking  of?  If  you  eat  all  the  cream,  we'll  have 
no  more  butter." 

The  clock  ticked  slowly  in  the  sitting-room  ;  out- 
of-doors  the  silence  was  perfect. 

This  lasted  for  half  an  hour,  and  Lisbeth  had  just 
put  the  fresh  butter  on  a  plate,  when  voices  were 
heard  in  the  street  ;  the  gate  opened,  and  feet  cov- 
ered with  snow  were  stamped  on  the  stones  of  the 
court.  My  uncle  hung  the  almanac  on  the  wall  and 
looked  toward  the  door,  through  which  the  burgo- 
master, Meyer,  came  in,  with  his  cap  of  curled  wool, 
with  two  tassels,  drawn  over  his  ears,  the  collar  of 
his  great  coat  white  with  frost,  and  his  hands  en- 
closed in  rabbit-skin  mittens  which  reached  to  his 
elbows. 

"  Good-day,  doctor,  good-day,"  said  the  large 
man.  "  I  come  at  a  snowy  time.  But  what  of 
that?  It  is  necessary,  it  is  necessary." 

Then  shaking  his  mittens,  which  hung  from 
his  neck  by  a  string,  he  took  off  his  cap  and  con- 
tinued : 

"A  poor  devil,  doctor,  is  lying  in  Reebock's 
wood-house  behind  a  heap  of  fagots.  He's  a  soldier, 
or  rather  a  corporal,  or  a  captain.  I  don't  know  ex- 
actly which.  He  must  have  crept  in  there  to  die 
quietly,  during  the  fight.  It  will  be  necessary  to 


94  MADAME  THERESE 

hold  an  inquest.  I  can't  certify  of  what  the  man 
died — that's  not  part  of  my  office." 

"  "Well,  burgomaster,"  said  Uncle  Jacob,  rising, 
"  I  will  go  :  but  there  must  be  one  more  witness." 

"  Michel  Furst  is  outside,  waiting  at  the  gate. 
What  a  snow  !  what  a  snow  !  up  to  one's  knees, 
doctor.  It  will  be  good  for  the  crops,  and  for  his 
majesty's  armies,  who  will  go  into  quarters — God 
bless  them  !  I  would  rather  they  should  go  to 
Kaiserslautern  than  come  here;  one  never  has  a 
better  friend  than  himself." 

While  the  burgomaster  indulged  in  these  reflec- 
tions, my  uncle  was  putting  on  his  boots,  great  coat, 
and  otter-skin  cap.  Then  he  said  : 

"  I  am  ready." 

They  went  out,  and  despite  the  entreaties  of  Lis- 
beth,  who  wanted  to  keep  me  in,  I  hurried  out,  and 
followed  them.  I  was  seized  with  a  curiosity  to  see 
the  soldier. 

Uncle  Jacob,  the  burgomaster,  and  Furst,  were 
the  only  persons  in  the  deserted  streets  ;  but  as  they 
walked  along,  faces  appeared  at  the  windows  and 
doors  were  heard  opening  in  the  distance.  People 
seeing  the  burgomaster,  the  doctor,  and  the  garde- 
champetre*  thought  something  extraordinary  must 
*  An  officer  who  has  charge  of  the  fields. 


MADAME  THERESE  95 

have  happened,  and  several  even  came  out,  but,  not 
finding  out  anything,  went  in  again  immediately. 

Arriving  at  Reebock's  house,  one  of  the  oldest  in 
the  village,  with  barn,  stables,  and  shed  in  the  fields 
behind,  and  thatched  cow-houses  with  mouldy  roofs 
on  the  right, — the  burgomaster,  Furst,  and  my  un- 
cle, entered  the  little  gloomy  passage  paved  with 
broken  flag-stones. 

I  followed  unperceived. 

Old  Reebock,  who  had  seen  them  pass  his  win- 
dows, opened  the  door  of  the  sitting-room,  which 
was  as  full  of  smoke  as  a  steam-bath,  where  the  old 
grandmother,  her  two  sons,  and  two  daughters-in- 
law  sat. 

Their  dog,  with  long  gray  hair  and  tail  dragging 
on  the  ground,  came  out,  also,  and  smelt  Scipio,  who 
followed  me,  holding  himself  proudly  while  the 
other  walked  around  him,  trying  to  make  his  ac- 
quaintance. 

"  I'll  show  you  the  way,"  said  old  Reebock — 
"  it's  there — inside — behind  the  barn." 

"  No,  stay  here,  Father  Reebock,"  said  Uncle 
Jacob,  "  it's  chilly,  and  you  are  old — your  son  will 
show  us  the  way." 

But  the  son,  after  discovering  the  soldier,  had  ran. 
away. 


96 

The  old  man  went  before  ;  we  followed  in  file. 
It  was  very  dark  in  the  passage.  In  passing  we  saw 
the  cow-house  lighted  by  a  pane  of  glass  in  the  roof, 
five  goats  with  full  udders,  who  looked  at  us  with 
their  golden  brown  eyes,  and  two  kids  who  began  to 
cry  in  a  shrill,  plaintive  voice  ;  then  the  stable  ;  two 
oxen  and  the  cow,  with  their  worm-eaten  racks  and 
litter  of  dead  leaves. 

The  animals  turned  quietly  round.  We  walked 
along  the  wall  :  something  rolled  under  my  feet. 
It  was  a  rabbit  which  disappeared  under  the  man- 
ger. Scipio  did  not  stir. 

Then  we  came  to  the  barn,  low,  filled  with  hay 
and  straw  to  the  roof.  Inside  we  saw  a  window  of 
bluish  glass  opening  in  the  garden  ;  the  light  from 
it  fell  upon  a  great  pile  of  logs  and  some  fagots 
heaped  against  the  wall  ;  below  all  was  dark. 

Strange  to  say,  in  the  window  were  a  cock  and  two 
or  three  hens,  their  heads  under  their  wings,  who 
stood  out  black  against  the  light.  I  could  not  see 
much  at  first,  on  account  of  the  gloom.  We  all 
stopped.  The  hens  gave  a  low  cackle. 

"  Perhaps  I  should  have  lighted  the  lantern," 
said  old  Keebock  :  "  we  can't  see  very  well." 

As  he  spoke,  I  saw  to  the  right  of  the  window, 
against  the  wall,  between  two  fagots,  a  large  red 


MADAME  TH^RESE  97 

cloak  :  then  looking  closer,  a  dark  head  and  yellow- 
ish mustache;  the  cock  jumped  down  from  the 
window  and  made  it  lighter. 

I  was  seized  with  fear.  Had  I  not  felt  Scipio 
against  my  leg,  I  should  have  run  away. 

"  I  see,"  said  my  uncle,  "  I  see  !  "  And  he  ap- 
proached, saying  :  "  It  is  a  Croat.  Let  us  see — 
Furst,  we  must  draw  him  forward  a  little." 

But  neither  Furst  nor  the  burgomaster  moved. 

My  uncle  drew  the  man  by  the  leg,  so  that  the 
light  fell  upon  him.  He  had  a  red  head,  sunken 
eyes,  pinched  nose,  compressed  lips,  and  a  reddish 
tuft  on  his  chin.  Uncle  Jacob  unbuckled  his  cloakj 
throwing  the  folds  over  the  wood,  and  we  saw  that 
the  Croat  held  a  sabre  with  a  long  blue  curved  blade. 
On  his  left  side  a  large  black  spot  showed  that  he  had 
bled  there.  My  uncle  unbuttoned  his  vest  and  said : 

"  He  died  of  a  bayonet-stroke,  doubtless  during 
the  last  encounter.  He  must  have  withdrawn  from 
the  contest.  Father  Reebock,  what  astonishes  me, 
is  that  he  did  not  knock  at  your  door,  and  that  he 
came  so  far  to  die." 

"  We  were  all  hidden  in  the  cellar,"  said  the  old 

man  ;  "  the  door  of  the  room  was  shut.     We  heard 

some  one  running  in  the  passage,  but  there  was  so 

much  noise  outside.     I  believe  the  poor  man  wanted 

7 


98 

to  escape  through  the  house  ;  unfortunately  there 
is  no  back  door.  A  Republican  must  have  followed 
him  like  a  wild  beast  as  far  as  the  barn.  We've  seen 
no  blood  in  the  passage  ;  it  is  here  in  the  darkness 
that  they  must  have  fought,  and  the  Frenchman, 
after  giving  him  this  bad  blow,  must  have  gone 
quietly  away.  This  is  what  I  think  ;  otherwise  we 
should  have  found  blood  somewhere.  But  no  one 
has  seen  any,  either  in  the  stable  or  the  cow-house. 
It  was  not  till  this  morning,  when  we  needed  some 
large  wood  for  the  stove,  that  Sepel,  going  into  the 
woodhouse,  discovered  the  unfortunate  man." 

As  we  listened  to  this  explanation,  we  pictured  to 
ourselves  the  Republican  with  his  great  queue,  like 
a  black  sausage,  and  his  large  pointed  hat,  pursuing 
the  Croat  in  the  darkness,  and  it  made  one  tremble. 

"  Yes,"  said  Uncle  Jacob,  rising,  and  looking  at 
the  burgomaster,  sadly,  "  that's  the  way  it  must 
have  happened." 

All  became  thoughtful.  The  silence  near  the 
dead  body  chilled  me. 

"  Now  the  inquest  is  over,"  said  my  uncle,  in  a 
moment,  "  we  can  go."  Then,  be-thinking  him- 
self, "  Perhaps  there  may  be  some  means  of  finding 
out  who  this  man  is." 

He  knelt  again,  put   his   hand  into  the  man's 


MADAME  TH^RESE  99 

pocket,  and  drew  out  some  papers.  Then  he  pulled 
a  little  copper  chain  that  crossed  his  breast,  and 
drew  a  large  silver  watch  from  the  fob  of  his  panta- 
loons. 

"  Take  the  watch,"  he  said  to  the  burgomaster. 
"  I'll  keep  the  papers  until  I've  written  the  certifi- 
cate." 

"  Keep  everything,  doctor,"  said  the  burgomas- 
ter. "  I  don't  like  to  carry  into  my  house  a  watch 
which  has  already  marked  the  death  of  one  of  God's 
creatures — no,  keep  everything.  Later,  we'll  talk 
of  this  again.  ISTow,  let  us  go." 

"  Yes,  and  you  may  send  Jeffer." 

Then  my  uncle,  perceiving  me,  said  : 

"  You  here,  Fritzel?  Must  you  then  see  every- 
thing? " 

He  made  no  other  reproach,  and  we  went  home 
together.  The  burgomaster  and  Furst  went  to  their 
homes.  As  we  walked  along,  Uncle  Jacob  read  the 
Croat's  papers.  Opening  the  door  of  our  room,  we 
saw  that  the  woman  had  just  taken  some  broth  ;  the 
curtains  were  still  open  and  the  plate  on  the  table. 

"  Well,  madame,"  said  my  uncle,  smiling, 
"  you're  getting  better." 

She  had  turned  and  was  looking  at  him  gratefully 
with  her  large  black  eyes. 


ioo  MADAME  THERESE 

"  Yes,  doctor,  you  have  saved  me.  I  feel  that 
I'm  recovering."  Then,  in  a  second,  she  added  in 
a  tone  full  of  compassion — "  You  have  just  found 
another  unfortunate  victim  of  war." 

My  uncle  knew  then  that  she  had  overheard  the 
conversation  when  the  burgomaster  came  for  him 
lialf  an  hour  before. 

"  It  is  true,  it  is  true,  madame  ;  another  unfortu- 
nate creature  who  will  never  more  see  his  home  ; 
another  poor  mother  who  will  never  again  embrace 
her  son." 

She  seemed  moved,  and  asked  in  a  low  voice  : 

"  Is  it  one  of  our  men  ?  " 

"  No,  madame  ;  he  is  a  Croat.  I  have  just  been 
reading  a  letter  that  his  mother  wrote  him  three 
weeks  ago.  The  poor  woman  begs  him  not  to  for- 
get his  prayers  night  and  morning,  and  to  do  right. 
She  speaks  to  him  with  tenderness,  as  if  he  were  a 
child.  Yet  he  was  an  old  soldier  ;  but  doubtless 
she  saw  him  still  fresh  and  fair  as  on  the  day  when, 
for  the  last  time,  she  embraced  him,  sobbing." 

My  uncle's  voice,  as  he  said  this,  was  very  touch- 
ing. He  looked  at  the  woman,  who  also  seemed 
much  moved. 

"  Yes,  you  are  right,"  said  she,  "  it  must  be 
•dreadful  to  know  that  a  child  will  never  come  back 


MADAME   THERESE  101 

again.  I,  at  least,  have  the  consolation  of  no  longer1 
causing  such  suffering  to  those  who  loved  me." 

She  turned  away  her  head,  and  my  uncle,  who  had 
become  very  grave,  asked  her  : 

"  Yet  you  are  not  alone  in  the  world?  " 

"  I  have  neither  father  nor  mother,"  said  she, 
sadly  ;  "  my  father  was  commander  of  the  battalion 
that  you  saw.  I  had  three  brothers.  We  all  came 
away  together  in  '92  from  Fenetrange  in  Lorraine. 
Three  are  now  dead  ;  my  father  and  two  eldest 
brothers  ;  only  I,  and  Jean  the  little  drummer,  are 
left."  As  she  said  this,  she  seemed  ready  to  burst 
into  tears.  Uncle  Jacob,  his  head  bent  forward,  his 
arms  crossed  on  his  back,  walked  up  and  down  the 
room.  Again  all  was  silent.  Suddenly  the  French 
woman  said  :  "  I  have  something  to  ask  you,  doc- 
tor." 

"  What,  madame? " 

"  Write  to  the  mother  of  the  unfortunate  Croat. 
It  is  terrible,  no  doubt,  to  hear  of  the  death  of  a  son, 
but  to  be  always  expecting  him,  to  hope  for  years 
that  he  will  return,  and  yet  never  to  see  him — even 
at  one's  last  hour,  that  must  be  more  cruel  still." 

She  ceased,  and  my  uncle  said,  thoughtfully  : 

"  Yes,  yes,  it  is  a  good  thought.  Fritzel,  bring: 
the  ink  and  paper.  What  a  terrible  thing,  my  God  I 


102  MADAME  THERESE 

To  think  that  writing  such  news  to  a  mother  should 
be  considered  a  good  deed.  Oh  war  !  war  !  " 

He  sat  down  and  began  to  write.  Lisbeth  came 
in  to  lay  the  cloth.  She  put  the  plates  and  loaf  on 
the  side-board.  Twelve  o'clock  struck.  The  can- 
tiniere  seemed  to  be  sleeping.  Uncle  Jacob  fin- 
ished his  letter,  folded,  sealed,  and  addressed  it,  and 
said  to  me  : 

"  Go,  Fritzel,  put  this  letter  into  the  box,  and 
hurry.  Ask  for  the  newspaper  at  Mother  Eber- 
hardt's.  It's  Saturday  ;  there  must  be  news  of  the 
war." 

I  ran  out,  and  put  the  letter  in  the  village  box. 
But  the  newspaper  had  not  come.  Clementz  had 
been  delayed  by  the  snow,  which  did  not  surprise 
my  uncle,  as  such  things  happened  nearly  every 
winter. 


vm 

RETURNING  from  the  post-office,  I  saw  at  a  dis- 
tance, in  the  large  meadow  behind  the  church  Hans 
Aden,  Frantz  Sepel,  and  many  of  my  other  com- 
rades, sliding  on  the  pond.  I  could  see  a  whole  row 
of  them  give  a  sudden  spring,  and  glide  off  like  ar- 
rows, bending  forward,  their  arms  extended  in  the 
air  to  preserve  their  equilibrium,  and  I  heard  the 
prolonged  whir  of  their  wooden  shoes  on  the  ice,  and 
their  shouts  of  joy. 

How  my  heart  bounded  as  I  watched  them  !  How 
I  wished  that  I  could  join  them  !  Unfortunately 
Uncle  Jacob  was  waiting  for  me,  and  I  went  in  with 
my  head  full  of  this  joyous  sight.  All  the  time  we 
were  at  dinner,  the  idea  of  running  down  to  the 
meadow  never  left  me  for  a  second  ;  but  I  was  very 
careful  not  to  speak  of  it  to  my  uncle,  for  he  always 
forbade  my  sliding  on  the  pond  for  fear  of  accidents. 

At  last  he  went  out  to  visit  the  cure,  who  was  suf- 
fering from  rheumatism.  I  waited  until  he  had 
reached  the  main  street,  and  then  whistled  to  Scipio, 
103 


104  MADAME  THERESE 

and  ran  like  a  hare  to  Holly  Lane.  The  dog  bound- 
ed after  me,  and  it  was  not  until  we  reached  the  little 
lane  full  of  snow,  that  we  stopped  to  take  breath.  I 
thought  I  should  find  mj  comrades  on  the  pond,  but 
they  had  gone  to  dinner.  On  turning  the  corner  of 
the  church,  I  only  saw  the  great  deserted  slides.  I 
therefore  had  to  slide  alone,  and  as  it  was  cold,  I  had 
enough  of  it  in  half  an  hour.  I  was  returning  to  the 
village,  when  Hans  Aden,  Frantz  Sepel,  and  two  or 
three  others,  with  red  cheeks,  cotton  caps  drawn  over 
their  ears,  and  hands  in  their  pockets,  came  out  from 
the  hedges  covered  with  snow. 

"  Is  it  you,  Fritzel?  "  said  Hans.  "  Are  you  go- 
ing away? " 

"  Yes.  I've  just  been  sliding,  and  Uncle  Jacob 
doesn't  want  me  to  slide.  I'd  rather  go  home." 

"  I  split  my  shoe  on  the  ice  this  morning,"  said 
Trantz,  "  and  my  father  has  mended  it.  Look  !  " 

He  took  off  his  shoe  and  showed  it  to  us.  His 
father  had  put  a  band  of  iron  across  it,  fastened  by 
four  great  nails,  with  pointed  heads. 

This  made  us  laugh,  and  Frantz  cried  : 

"  There  !  that  isn't  very  fine  for  sliding  !  Lis- 
ten :  let  us  go  in  a  sled  up  the  Altenberg,  and  we'll 
come  down  like  the  wind." 

The  idea  of  going  in  a  sled  seemed  to  me  so  mag- 


MADAME   THERESE  105 

nificent,  that  I  already  saw  myself  on  one,  rushing 
down  the  hill,  and  guiding  it  with  my  heels,  crying, 
in  a  voice  which  reached  the  clouds,  "  Himmels- 
farth!  Himmelsfarth!"  I  was  enchanted  with 
the  idea. 

"  Yes,"  said  Hans  Aden,  "  but  how  are  we  to  get 
a  sled? " 

"  Leave  that  to  me,"  replied  Frantz  Sepel,  the 
most  mischievous  of  us  all.  "  Father  had  one  last 
year,  but  it  was  all  worm-eaten,  and  grandmother 
made  fire-wood  of  it.  But  it's  all  the  same.  Come 
on." 

We  followed  him,  full  of  doubt  and  hope.  As 
we  went  down  the  street,  we  stopped  before  every 
shed,  and  looked  up  with  envious  eyes  at  the  sleds 
hanging  from  the  beams. 

"  There's  a  beautiful  sled  !  "  said  one  ;  "  it  could 
hold  us  all,  easily." 

"  Yes,"  answered  another,  "  but  it  would  be  too 
heavy  to  drag  up  the  hill  ;  it  is  made  of  green 
wood." 

"  Ah,"  said  Hans  Aden,  "  but  we'd  take  it  for 
all  that,  if  Father  Gitzig  would  lend  it  to  us.  But 
he's  a  miser.  He  keeps  his  sled  for  himself  alone  ; 
as  if  sleds  could  wear  out  !  " 

"  Come  on  !  "  cried  Frantz  Sepel,  who  was  in  ad- 


106  MADAME  THERESE 

vance.     All  the  party  started  again.     From  time  to 
time  they  glanced  at  Scipio,  who  kept  near  me. 

"  You  have  a  fine  dog,"  said  Hans,  "  he's  a 
French  dog.  They  have  wool  like  sheep,  and  let 
you  shear  them  without  saying  a  word." 

Frantz  declared  that  he  had  seen,  the  year  before, 
at  the  fair  at  Kaiserslautern,  a  French  dog  who  wore 
glasses,  and  counted  on  a  drum  up  to  a  hundred. 
He  guessed  all  sorts  of  things,  and  Grandmother 
Anne  thought  he  must  be  a  sorcerer. 

Scipio  stopped  and  looked  at  us  during  this 
speech.  I  was  very  proud  of  him.  Little  Karl,  the 
weaver's  son,  said  that  if  Scipio  were  a  sorcerer,  he 
could  get  a  sled  for  us  ;  but  it  would  be  necessary  to 
give  him  our  souls  in  exchange,  and  not  one  of  us 
wanted  to  give  him  his  soul. 

So  we  went  from  house  to  house,  and  the  church 
clock  was  striking  two,  when  M.  Bichter  passed  us 
on  his  sled,  crying  to  his  great  lean  horse,  "  Get  up  ! 
Charlotte,  get  up  !  "  The  poor  beast  strained  every 
nerve.  M.  Richter,  contrary  to  his  custom,  seemed 
very  merry.  As  he  passed  the  butcher  Sepel's 
house,  he  cried,  "  Good  news,  Sepel,  good  news  !  " 
He  cracked  his  whip,  and  Hans  said  : 

"  M.  Richter's  a  little  fuddled.  He  must  have 
found,  somewhere,  some  wine  which  didn't  cost  him 
anything." 


MADAME  THERESE  107 

"We  laughed  loudly  at  this  ;  for  all  in  the  village 
knew  that  M.  Bichter  was  a  miser.  We  had  reached 
the  end  of  the  street  where  stood  the  house  of  Father 
Adam  Schmitt,  an  old  soldier  of  Frederic  II.,  who 
received  a  little  pension  to  buy  bread,  and  tobacco, 
and  occasionally  schnapps.  He  had  been  in  the 
Seven  Years'  War,  and  in  all  the  campaigns  of  Si- 
lesia and  Pomerania.  He  was  very  old  now,  and 
since  his  sister  Koesel's  death,  lived  alone  in  the  last 
house  of  the  village — a  little  thatched  house,  having 
only  one  room  below,  one  above,  and  the  roof  with 
its  two  attic  windows.  There  was  also  a  shed  on  one 
side,  a  pig-sty  behind,  and  a  little  garden  in  front, 
surrounded  by  a  quick-set  hedge,  which  Father 
Schmitt  cultivated  with  care. 

Uncle  Jacob  liked  this  old  soldier  ;  sometimes, 
when  he  saw  him  passing  the  house,  he  would  tap 
on  the  window-pane,  and  cry,  "  Come  in,  Adam  !  '* 
He  always  came  in,  knowing  that  uncle  had  real 
French  cognac  in  a  cupboard,  and  that  he  called  him 
in  to  offer  him  a  little  glass. 

We  stopped,  then,  before  his  house,  and  Frantz, 
leaning  on  the  hedge,  said  : 

"  Look  at  that  sled  !  I  bet  Father  Schmitt  will 
lend  it  to  us,  if  Fritzel  goes  in  boldly,  puts  his  hand 
beside  the  old  man's  ear,  and  says,  '  Father  Adam, 


Io8  MADAME   THERESE 

will  you  lend  us  your  sled? '     Yes,  I  bet  he'll  lend 
it  to  us  ;  I'm  sure  of  it — only  we  must  be  bold  !  " 

I  became  very  red.  I  looked  at  the  sled  with  one 
eye,  and  with  the  other  at  the  little  low  window  on  a 
level  with  the  ground.  All  my  comrades  stood  at 
the  corner  of  the  house,  pushing  me  forward  by  the 
shoulder,  saying  : 

"  Go  in,  he'll  lend  it  to  you  !  " 

"  I  dare  not,"  said  I,  speaking  very  low. 

"  You  haven't  any  courage/'  replied  Hans 
Aden;  "  if  I  were  in  your  place,  I'd  go  in  at  once." 

"  Let  me  look  in,  a  little,  and  see  if  he's  in  good 
humor." 

Then  I  peeped  in  at  the  little  window,  and  saw 
Father  Schmitt  sitting  on  a  stool  before  the  stone 
hearth,  on  which  a  few  coals  burned  amid  a  heap  of 
ashes.  His  back  was  turned  toward  me.  I  could 
see  only  his  long  figure  and  stooping  shoulders,  his 
little  blue  cloth  jacket,  too  short  to  reach  the  coarse 
gray  linen  pantaloons,  his  white  hair  falling  on  his 
neck,  the  blue  cotton  cap,  with  a  little  tassel  in  front, 
the  large  red  ears  standing  out  from  his  head,  and 
great  wooden  shoes  resting  on  the  stove  hearth.  He 
was  smoking  his  clay  pipe,  the  bowl  of  which  I  could 
see  projecting  a  little  beyond  his  sunburnt  cheek. 
This  is  all  I  saw  beside  the  broken  flag-stones  of  the 


MADAME   THERESE  109 

floor,  and  on  the  left,  a  sort  of  manger  filled  with, 
straw.  These  observations  did  not  inspire  me  with 
much  confidence,  and  I  tried  to  escape  ;  but  the 
others  pushed  me  into  the  entry,  saving,  in  low 
voices  : 

"Fritzel — Fritzel — he'll  lend  it  to  you,  I'm 
sure  !  " 

"  JNo." 

"  Yes." 

"  I  don't  want  to." 

But  Hans  Aden  had  opened  the  door,  and  I  was 
already  in  the  room  with  Scipio,  the  others  behind 
me,  with  wide-open  eyes,  staring  and  listening.  Oh, 
how  I  wished  I  could  escape  !  Unfortunately, 
Frantz  Sepel,  outside,  held  the  door  half  closed. 
There  was  room  only  for  his  head,  and  Hans  Aden's, 
who  stood  on  tip-toe  behind  him.  Old  Schmitt  had 
turned  round. 

"  Why,  it's  Fritzel  !  "  said  he,  rising.  "  What's 
the  matter? " 

He  opened  the  door,  and  all  the  party  fled  like  a 
flock  of  sparrows.  I  was  left  alone.  The  old  sol- 
dier looked  at  me  much  astonished. 

"  What  do  you  want,  Fritzel?  "  asked  he,  taking 
a  coal  from  the  hearth  to  re-light  his  pipe,  which  had 
gone  out.  Then  seeing  Scipio,  he  contemplated 


HO  MADAME   THERESE 

him  gravely,  blowing  great  puffs  of  smoke.  I  had 
recovered  my  confidence  a  little. 

"  Father  Schmitt,"  said  I,  "  the  boys  want  me 
to  ask  you  for  your  sled,  to  ride  down  the  Alten- 
berg." 

The  old  soldier,  who  was  opposite  the  dog,  winked 
and  smiled.  Instead  of  replying,  he  rubbed  his  ear, 
raising  his  cap,  and  asked  : 

"  Is  that  your  dog,  Fritzel?  " 

"  Yes,  Father  Adam  ;  he  belongs  to  the  woman 
who  is  at  our  house." 

"  Ah,  good  !  he  must  be  a  soldier's  dog.  He 
must  know  the  drill." 

Scipio  was  watching  us,  with  nose  upturned,  and 
Father  Schmitt,  taking  his  pipe  from  his  mouth, 
said  : 

"  He's  a  dog  of  the  regiment.  He  looks  like  old 
Michel,  whom  we  had  in  Silesia."  Then  raising 
his  pipe,  he  cried  :  "  Shoulder  arms  !  "  in  a  voice 
so  loud  that  it  resounded  through  the  whole  house. 
But  what  was  my  surprise  to  see  Scipio  sit  on  his 
hind  legs,  his  fore  legs  hanging  down,  and  carrying 
himself  like  a  real  soldier. 

"  Ha!  ha  !  ha  !  "  cried  old  Schmitt,  "  I  was 
sure  of  it !  " 

My  comrades  had  all  come  back.       Some  were 


'CARAT  ARMBt" 


MADAME  THERESE  m 

looking  in  through  the  half -open  door,  some  through 
the  window.  Scipio  did  not  stir,  and  Father 
Schmitt,  as  joyous  as  he  had  seemed  grave  before, 
said  : 

"  Attention,  march  ! "  Then  imitating  the 
sound  of  a  drum,  he  marched  backward  on  his  great 
wooden  shoes,  and  began  to  cry,  "  March  !  Pan — 
pan — rataplan.  One — two.  One — two  !  " 

And  Scipio  marched  with  astonishing  gravity,  his 
long  ears  on  his  shoulders,  and  his  tail  curled.  It 
was  marvellous.  My  heart  leaped.  All  the  others 
were  speechless  with  admiration. 

"  Halt  !  "  cried  Schmitt,  and  Scipio  halted. 

Then  I  thought  no  more  of  the  sled  ;  I  was  so 
proud  of  Scipio's  talents,  that  I  would  have  run 
home  and  exclaimed  to  my  uncle,  "  We  have  a  dog 
who  can  drill  !  "  But  Hans  Aden,  Frantz  Sepel, 
and  all  the  rest,  encouraged  by  the  old  soldier's  good 
humor,  had  come  in,  and  were  standing  there  in 
ecstasy,  their  backs  against  the  door,  their  caps  un- 
der their  arms. 

"  In  place,  rest  !  "  cried  Father  Schmitt,  and 
Scipio  came  down  on  his  four  paws,  shaking  his 
head,  and  scratching  his  neck  with  his  hind  leg,  as  if 
to  say,  "  A  flea  has  been  biting  me  for  two  min- 
utes, but  one  dares  not  scratch  himself  wlule  under 
arms! " 


H2  MADAME   THERESE 

I  was  speechless  with  joy  at  seeing  these  per- 
formances, and  dared  not  call  Scipio  for  fear  of  mak- 
ing him  ashamed.  But  he  placed  himself  near  me, 
modestly,  which  overwhelmed  me  with  satisfaction. 
I  considered  myself  in  some  sort,  a  field-marshal  at 
the  head  of  his  armies.  All  the  others  envied  me. 

Father  Schmitt  looked  at  Scipio  with  emotion. 
We  could  see  that  he  was  recalling  his  soldier  life. 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  in  a  few  minutes,  "  he's  a  true 
soldier's  dog.  But  let  us  see  if  he  understands  pol- 
itics, for  very  few  dogs  understand  politics."  He 
took  a  stick  from  behind  the  door,  and  held  it  cross- 
wise, crying,  "  Attention  to  the  word  of  com- 
mand !  "  Scipio  was  already  in  readiness. 

"  Jump  for  the  Republic  !  "  cried  the  old  soldier, 
and  Scipio  leaped  over  the  stick  like  a  stag. 

"  Jump  for  General  Hoche  !  "     Scipio  jumped. 

"  Jump  for  the  King  of  Prussia  !  "  But  then  he 
seated  himself  on  his  tail  very  firmly,  and  the  old 
man  began  to  laugh  quietly,  his  eyes  half  shut,  say- 
ing* 

"  Yes,  he  understands  politics — ha  !    ha  !    ha  ! 

Come  !  "     He  passed  his  hand  over  the  dog's  head, 
and  Scipio  seemed  very  happy. 

"  Fritzel,  you  have  a  dog  worth  his  weight  in 
gold  ;  he's  a  true  soldier's  dog."  And  looking  at 


MADAME   THERESE  113 

all  of  us,  he  added,  "  I'm  going  to  lend  you  my  sled, 
since  you  have  such  a  good  dog  ;  but  you  must 
bring  it  back  at  five  o'clock,  and  take  care  not  to 
break  your  necks." 

He  went  out  with  us,  and  took  his  sled  from  the 
shed.  My  mind  was  divided  between  going  to  an- 
nounce to  my  uncle  Scipio's  extraordinary  talents, 
and  riding  down  the  Altenberg  on  our  sled.  But 
when  I  saw  Hans  Aden,  Frantz  Sepel,  and  all  my 
companions,  some  before,  some  behind,  pushing  and 
pulling,  galloping  in  ecstasy,  I  could  not  resist  the 
pleasure  of  joining  the  party. 

Schmitt  watched  us  from  the  door  : 

"  Take  care  not  to  upset,"  said  he,  again. 

Then  he  went  in,  while  we  marched  along  in  the 
snow.  Scipio  leaped  at  my  side.  I  leave  you  to 
imagine  our  joy,  our  screams  and  shouts  of  laughter, 
as  we  went  up  the  hill. 

And  when  we  were  at  the  top,  Hans  Aden  in 
front,  his  hands  clinging  to  the  sides  of  the  sled,  the 
rest  behind,  three  together,  Scipio  in  the  middle, 
and  the  sled  suddenly  started,  jolting  in  the  ruts,  and 
spinning  over  the  slopes — what  delight  ! . 

Ah  !  we  are  never  young  but  once. 

The  sled  had  hardly  started,  when  Scipio  sprang 
with  one  bound  over  our  heads.  He  would  rather 

8 


H4  MADAME   THERESE 

run,  leap,  bark,  roll  in  the  snow  like  a  child,  than  go 
in  a  sled.  But  this  did  not  prevent  us  from  retain- 
ing great  respect  for  his  talents.  Every  time  we 
went  up,  and  he  walked  near  us,  full  of  dignity,  first 
one,  then  the  other  would  turn  round,  as  we  pushed 
our  sled,  and  say  : 

"  You're  very  fortunate,  Fritzel,  to  have  such  a 
dog.  Adam  Schmitt  says  he's  worth  his  weight  in 
gold." 

"  Yes,  but  he  doesn't  belong  to  them,"  cried  an- 
other, "  he's  the  woman's." 

The  idea  that  he  was  the  woman's  dog  disturbed 
me  very  much,  and  I  thought,  "  I  hope  they'll  both 
stay  at  our  house  !  " 

We  continued  to  go  up  and  down  the  hill  until 
nearly  four  o'clock.  Then  night  began  to  fall,  and 
we  remembered  our  promise  to  Father  Schmitt,  and 
returned  to  the  village.  As  we  drew  near  the  old 
soldier's  house  we  saw  him  standing  at  his  door.  He 
had  heard  us  laughing  and  talking  at  a  distance. 

"  Here  you  are,"  cried  he  ;  "  nobody's  hurt?  " 

"  No,  Father  Schmitt." 

"  So  much  the  better." 

He  put  his  sled  under  the  shed,  and  I  ran  off  with- 
out saying  "  good-day,"  or  "  good-night,"  eager 
to  announce  to  my  uncle  what  a  dog  we  had  the 


MADAME   THERESE  115 

honor  of  possessing.  This  idea  made  me  so  happy 
that  I  was  home  before  I  knew  it.  Scipio  was  at 
my  heels. 

"  Uncle  Jacob  !  "  cried  I,  opening  the  door, 
"  Scipio  knows  how  to  drill  !  Father  Schmitt  saw 
at  once  that  he  was  a  real  soldier's  dog.  He  made 
him  march  on  his  hind  legs  like  a  grenadier,  only 
saying  to  him  (  One  !  two  ! ' 

My  uncle  was  reading  behind  the  stove.  Seeing 
me  so  enthusiastic,  he  put  his  book  on  the  mantel- 
piece, and  said  with  an  air  of  astonishment — 

"  Is  it  possible,  Fritzel?  " 

"  Yes,"  cried  I,  "  and  he  understands  politics, 
too  :  he  leaps  for  the  Republic  and  for  General 
Hoche,  but  he  won't  leap  for  the  King  of  Prussia." 

My  uncle  laughed,  and  looked  at  the  woman,  who 
was  also  smiling,  in  the  alcove,  her  elbow  on  the  pil- 
low. 

"  Madame  Therese,"  said  he,  gravely,  "  you 
have  not  spoken  of  the  remarkable  talents  of  your 
dog.  Is  it  true  that  Scipio  knows  so  many  fine 
things? " 

"  It  is  true,  doctor,"  she  said,  caressing  the  dog, 
who  had  approached  the  bed,  and  stretched  out  his 
head  to  her,  joyfully,  "  Yes,  he  knows  all  that, — he 
•was  the  amusement  of  the  regiment.  Little  Jean 


n6  MADAME  THERESE 

taught  him  something  new  every  day.  Isn't  it  so, 
my  poor  Scipio?  Didn't  you  play  at  drogue,* 
shake  the  dice  for  good  luck,  and  beat  the  reveille? 
How  many  times  have  our  father  and  two  elder 
brothers,  when  we  halted  for  the  night,  been  de- 
lighted to  see  you  mount  guard?  You  made  every- 
body laugh  by  your  air  of  gravity  and  your  accom- 
plishments ;  we  forgot  the  fatigue  of  the  march  as 
we  gathered  around  you,  and  laughed  heartily  !  " 

She  said  this  in  a  tender  voice,  and  was  much 
moved,  although  smiling  a  little. 

Scipio  had  straightened  himself  up,  his  paws  on 
the  edge  of  the  bed,  to  listen  to  this  praise. 

But  Uncle  Jacob,  seeing  that  Madame  Therese 
became  more  and  more  agitated  by  these  remem- 
brances, feared  they  would  do  her  harm,  and  said — 

"  I'm  very  glad,  Fritzel,  that  Scipio  knows  how 
to  drill,  and  understands  politics  ;  but  what  have 
you  been  doing  since  noon?  " 

"  We've  been  on  a  sled  up  the  Altenberg,  Father 
Adam  lent  us  his  sled." 

"  That's  very  well,  but  all  these  doings  have  made 
us  forget  M.  de  Buffon  and  Klopstock.  If  this  con- 
tinues, Scipio  will  soon  know  more  than  you." 

He  rose  and  took  from  the  bureau  Buffon's  Nat- 

*  Game  played  by  soldiers  and  sailors. 


MADAME  THERESE  117 

ural  History,  and  put  the  candle  on  the  table. 
"  Come,  Fritzel,"  said  he,  smiling  at  my  long  face, 
for  I  was  wishing  I  had  not  returned  so  soon, 
"  Come  !  " 

He  sat  down  and  took  me  on  his  knee.  It  seemed 
very  hard  to  return  to  M.  de  Buffon  after  eight  days' 
holiday  ;  but  my  uncle  had  so  much  patience  that  I 
was  forced  to  have  some  also,  and  we  began  our 
French  lesson.  It  lasted  an  hour,  until  Lisbeth 
came  to  lay  the  cloth.  Then  we  turned  round,  and 
saw  that  Madame  Therese  was  dozing.  My  uncle 
closed  the  book  and  drew  the  curtains,  while  Lisbeth 
arranged  the  dishes. 


IX 

THAT  evening,  after  supper,  Uncle  Jacob  smoked 
his  pipe  in  silence  behind  the  stove.  I  sat  before  it, 
drying  my  pantaloons,  Scipio's  head  between  my 
knees,  and  watched  the  red  firelight  dancing  on  the 
floor.  Lisbeth  had  taken  away  the  candle  as  usual  ; 
we  were  in  darkness  ;  the  fire  burned  briskly,  as  it 
does  in  very  cold  weather,  the  clock  ticked  slowly, 
and  we  could  hear  the  old  servant  in  the  kitchen 
washing  her  dishes  in  the  sink. 

How  many  thoughts  passed  through  my  head, 
then  !  Sometimes  I  thought  of  the  dead  soldier  in 
Reebock's  barn,  and  the  black  cock  in  the  window. 
Sometimes  of  Father  Schmitt  making  Scipio  go 
through  the  drill  ;  then  of  the  Altenberg  and  our 
descent  on  the  sled.  It  all  came  back  to  me  like  a 
dream  ;  the  plaintive  murmur  of  the  fire  seemed  to 
me  the  music  of  these  remembrances,  and  I  felt  my 
eyes  close  softly. 

About  half  an  hour  afterward  I  was  awakened  by 
1x8 


MADAME  THERESE  119 

the  sound  of  steps  in  the  alley  ;  the  door  opened, 
and  the  mole-catcher's  cheerful  voice  said  : 

"  Snow,  doctor,  snow  !  It's  begun  to  fall  again. 
We  shall  have  it  all  night." 

Uncle  must  have  been  dozing,  for  a  minute  passed 
before  I  heard  him  move,  and  answer  : 

"  What  would  you  have,  mole-catcher?  This  ia 
the  season.  We  must  expect  it  now." 

Then  he  rose  and  went  into  the  kitchen  for  a 
light. 

The  mole-catcher  drew  near. 

"  How,  Fritzel  here  !  "  said  he.  "  You  not 
asleep  yet? " 

My  uncle  returned.  I  turned  my  liead  and  saw 
that  the  mole-catcher  had  his  winter  clothes  on  ;  his 
old  cap  of  martin's  fur, — the  worn-out  tail  hanging 
down  his  back  ;  his  goat-skin  jacket, — the  hair  in- 
side,— his  red  waistcoat  with  pockets  hanging  loose- 
ly on  his  hips,  and  old  brown  velvet  breeches, 
adorned  with  patches  on  the  knees.  He  was  smil- 
ing, half -shutting  his  small  eyes,  and  holding  some- 
thing under  his  arm. 

"  Have  you  come  for  the  Gazette,  mole-catcher?" 
asked  Uncle  Jacob.  "  It  didn't  come  this  morning. 
The  messenger  is  behindhand." 

"  No,  doctor,  no.     I've  come  for  something  else." 


120  MADAME  THERESE 

He  placed  on  the  table  an  old  square  book,  with  a 
wooden  cover  at  least  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick,  and 
covered  with  large  brass  ornaments,  representing 
vine  leaves.  The  edges  were  all  blackened  and 
greasy  with  age,  and  from  each  page  hung  strings 
and  threads  to  mark  the  right  places. 

"  See  why  I've  come  !  "  said  the  mole-catcher, 
"  I  don't  need  news  ;  when  I  want  to  know  what's 
going  on  in  the  world,  I  open,  and  look." 

Then  he  smiled  and  his  long  yellow  teeth  showed 
themselves  under  the  four  hairs  of  his  mustache, 
slender  as  needles. 

My  uncle  said  nothing,  but  drew  the  table  near 
the  stove,  and  sat  down  in  his  corner. 

"  Yes,"  continued  the  mole-catcher,  "  every- 
thing's in  that,  but  one  must  understand — one  must 
understand  !  "  touching  his  head  dreamily.  "  The 
letters  are  nothing,  it's  the  spirit — the  spirit  that  one 
must  understand." 

Then  he  seated  himself  in  the  arm-chair,  and  took 
the  book  in  his  lap,  with  a  sort  of  veneration  ;  he 
opened  it,  and  said,  while  my  uncle  looked  at  him  : 

"  Doctor,  I've  told  you  a  hundred  times  about  the 
book  of  my  Aunt  Roesel  of  Heming  ;  well,  to-day 
I  have  brought  it,  to  show  you  the  past,  the  present, 
and  the  future.  You  will  see!  You  will  see! 


MADAME  THERESE  121 

All  that  has  happened  during  the  last  four  years, 
was  written  beforehand.  I  knew  it  well,  but  I 
wouldn't  tell  it  because  of  that  Bichter,  who  would 
have  laughed  at  me,  for  he  can't  see  farther  than  the 
end  of  his  nose.  And  the  future,  also,  is  here  ;  but 
I  will  only  explain  it  to  you,  doctor,  who  are  a  sen- 
sible, reasonable,  clear-sighted  man.  This  is  why 
I  have  come." 

"  Listen,  mole-catcher,"  replied  Uncle  Jacob. 
"  I  know  very  well  that  all  is  mystery  in  this  lower 
world,  and  I  am  not  conceited  enough  to  refuse  to 
believe  in  predictions  and  miracles  related  by  such 
wise  authors  as  Moses,  Herodotus,  Thucydides, 
Livy,  and  many  others.  But  nevertheless,  I  respect 
the  will  of  God  too  much  to  wish  to  penetrate  the 
secrets  hidden  by  His  infinite  wisdom.  I  would 
rather  see  in  your  book  the  accomplishment  of 
things  already  past,  than  the  future.  That  will  be 
clearer,  too." 

"  Well,  well,  you  shall  know  everything  !  "  said 
the  mole-catcher,  satisfied  with  my  uncle's  grave 
manner.  He  pulled  his  chair  toward  the  table,  and 
leaned  the  book  on  the  edge,  then  rummaging  in  his 
pocket,  drew  out  a  pair  of  old  brass  spectacles,  and 
put  them  on  his  nose,  which  gave  him  a  very  fan- 
tastic appearance.  My  interest  may  be  imagined. 


122  MADAME  THERESE 

I  too  had  approached  the  table,  and  leaning  my 
elbows  upon  it,  my  chin  in  my  hands,  I  watched 
him,  holding  my  breath,  my  eyes  staring  from  my 
head. 

This  scene  will  always  be  present  to  me  ;  the 
perfect  silence  of  the  room,  the  ticking  of  the  clock, 
the  murmur  of  the  fire,  the  candle  like  a  star  in  the 
midst  of  us  ;  opposite  me  my  uncle  in  his  dark  cor- 
ner, Scipio  at  my  feet  ;  then  the  mole-catcher  bend- 
ing over  his  book  of  predictions,  and  behind  him 
the  little  black  window-panes,  where  the  snow  was 
falling  in  the  darkness  ;  I  see  it  all  again,  and  it 
even  seems  as  if  I  can  hear  the  voice  of  the  poor  old 
mole-catcher,  and  that  of  good  Uncle  Jacob,  both  of 
whom  have  been  so  long  in  their  graves.  It  was  a 
strange  scene. 

"  How,  mole-catcher,"  said  my  uncle,  "  you 
need  glasses  at  your  age  ?  I  thought  your  sight  was 
excellent." 

"  I  don't  need  them  to  read  ordinary  things,  nor 
to  see  out-of-doors  ;  I  have  good  eyes.  From  here 
I  can  see,  in  the  spring,  a  nest  of  caterpillars  in  the 
trees  on  the  side  of  the  Altenberg.  But  these 
glasses  belonged  to  my  Aunt  Eoesel  of  Heming,  and 
it's  necessary  to  have  them  on  to  understand  this 
book.  Sometimes  they  trouble  me,  but  I  read  over 


MADAME  THERESE  123 

them  or  under  them.  The  principal  thing  is  to  have 
them  on  my  nose." 

"  Ah,  that's  different,  very  different  !  "  said  my 
uncle,  seriously,  for  he  was  too  kind-hearted  to  let 
the  mole-catcher  see  that  he  was  astonished. 

The  mole-catcher  began  to  read  :  "  '  A.  D.  1793. 
— The  grass  is  dry,  the  flower  has  fallen,  because 
the  wind  has  blown  upon  it.'  That  means  that  it  is 
winter  ;  the  grass  is  dry,  the  flower  has  fallen  be- 
cause the  wind  has  blown  upon  it." 

My  uncle  nodded,  and  he  continued  : 

"  l  The  isles  saw,  and  were  seized  with  fear,  the 
ends  of  the  earth  were  afraid  ;  they  approached, 
and  entered.'  That,  doctor,  means  that  England 
and  even  the  farthest  isles  of  the  sea  have  become 
alarmed  because  of  the  Republicans.  '  They  ap- 
proached and  entered.'  Everybody  knows  that  the 
English  have  landed  in  Belgium  to  fight  the  French. 
But  listen  carefully  to  the  rest.  '  In  that  time  the 
leaders  of  the  people  will  be  like  a  fire  in  the  midst 
of  woods,  and  like  a  torch  in  the  midst  of  sheaves. 
They  will  ravage  the  country  right  and  left.' ' 

The  mole-catcher  then  raised  his  finger  gravely, 
and  said  : 

"  These  are  the  kings  and  emperors  who  advance 
in  the  midst  of  their  armies,  and  destroy  everything 


124  MADAME  THERESE 

in  the  countries  which  they  cross.  Unhappily,  we 
know  these  things  from  having  seen  them.  Our 
poor  village  will  remember  them  a  long  time." 

And  as  Uncle  Jacob  did  not  answer,  he  con- 
tinued : 

"  l  In  that  time,  woe  to  the  unfaithful  shepherd 
who  shall  abandon  his  flock  ;  the  sword  will  fall 
from  his  hand,  and  his  right  eye  will  be  entirely 
darkened.'  We  see  in  these  words  the  Bishop  of 
Mayence,  with  his  nurse  and  five  mistresses,  who 
made  his  escape  last  year  on  the  arrival  of  General 
Custine.  He  was  truly  an  unfaithful  shepherd, 
who  caused  scandal  throughout  the  country  ;  his 
arm  is  withered,  and  his  right  eye  is  darkened." 

"  But,"  said  my  uncle,  "  remember,  mole- 
catcher,  that  this  bishop  was  not  the  only  one,  there 
were  many  more  who  behaved  in  the  same  manner, 
in  Germany,  France,  Italy,  and  everywhere." 

"  The  more  reason,  doctor  ;  the  book  speaks  for 
all  the  world  ;  l  for,'  said  he,  placing  his  finger 
on  the  page,  t  for,  in  that  time,  said  the  Eternal,  I 
will  take  away  from  the  world,  false  prophets,  doer? 
of  miracles,  and  the  spirit  of  impurity.'  What  can 
that  mean,  Dr.  Jacob,  but  all  these  men  who  talk  in- 
cessantly of  loving  our  neighbors,  to  obtain  our 
money  ;  who  believe  nothing,  and  menace  us  with 


MADAME   THERESE  125 

hell  ;  who  dress  in  purple  and  gold,  and  preach 
humility  to  us  ;  who  say,  '  Sell  all  your  goods,  and 
follow  Christ,'  and  heap  up  riches  upon  riches  in 
their  palaces  and  convents  ;  who  recommend  faith 
to  us,  and  laugh  among  themselves  at  the  fools  who 
listen  to  them?  Isn't  that  the  spirit  of  impurity?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Uncle  Jacob,  "  it  is  abominable." 

"  Well,  it  is  for  them,  for  all  the  bad  shepherds, 
that  these  things  are  written." 

Then  he  continued  : 

"  '  In  that  time,  there  will  be  on  the  mountains, 
the  noise  of  a  multitude — of  a  great  people  who  are 
rising — the  noise  of  an  assembled  nation.  The 
peoples  round  about  will  hear,  and  every  man's 
heart  will  soften.  And  the  haughty  will  be  fright- 
ened. The  world  will  be  in  travail  ;  the  good  will 
look  at  each  other  with  burning  faces  ;  they  will 
hear  for  the  first  time  great  things  spoken  of  ;  they 
will  know  that  all  are  equal  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord, 
that  all  have  a  right  to  justice,  as  the  trees  of  the 
forest  have  to  light  ! ' 

"  Is  that  written  so,  mole-catcher? "  asked  my 
uncle. 

"  You  can  see  for  yourself,"  answered  the  mole- 
catcher,  handing  him  the  book. 

Uncle  Jacob  looked  at  it  with  a  troubled  expres- 
sion. 


126  MADAME  THERESE 

"  Yes,  it  is  written,"  said  he,  in  a  low  voice  ;  "  it 
is  written.  Ah,  may  the  Lord  accomplish  such 
great  things  in  our  time!  May  He  rejoice  our 
hearts  with  such  a  spectacle  !  " 

Then  stopping  suddenly,  as  if  astonished  at  his 
own  enthusiasm — 

"  Is  it  possible  that  at  my  age  I  allow  myself  to  be 
so  excited  on  this  subject?  I  am  a  child,  a  real 
child  !  " 

He  returned  the  book  to  the  mole-catcher,  who 
said,  smiling, 

"  I  see  very  well,  doctor,  that  you  understand  this 
passage  as  I  do  ; — this  noise  of  a  great  people  rising, 
— it  is  France  that  proclaims  the  rights  of  man." 

"  How  !  you  believe  that  relates  to  the  French 
Revolution?  "  asked  my  uncle. 

"  To  what,  then?  'tis  as  clear  as  the  day." 

Then  he  put  on  his  glasses,  which  he  had  taken 
off,  and  read  : 

"  '  There  are  seventy  weeks  in  which  to  consum- 
mate the  sin,  to  expiate  the  iniquity,  to  bring  about 
the  justice  of  ages.  After  which  men  will  throw 
their  idols  of  silver  to  the  moles  and  bats.  And  the 
peoples  will  say,  Let  us  beat  our  swords  into  plough- 
shares, and  our  spears  into  pruning  hooks.' ' 

At  this  point  the  mole-catcher  leaned  his  elbows 


MADAME  THERESE  127 

on  the  book,  and  rubbing  his  beard,  with  nose  up- 
turned, seemed  to  reflect  profoundly.  I  could  not 
take  my  eyes  from  him.  He  seemed  to  me  to  see 
strange  things — an  unknown  world  in  the  darkness 
around  us.  The  faint  crackling  of  the  fire  and  the 
sighs  of  Scipio  sleeping  near  me,  produced  on  me  the 
effects  of  far-off  human  voices,  and  even  the  silence 
disquieted  me. 

Uncle  Jacob  seemed  to  have  recovered  his  calm- 
ness. He  had  just  filled  his  large  pipe,  and  lit  it 
with  a  piece  of  paper,  slowly  drawing  two  or  three 
puffs.  He  shut  the  lid  and  threw  himself  back  in 
his  chair,  with  a  sigh. 

"  '  Men  will  cast  down  their  silver  idols,'  "  said 
the  mole-catcher.  "  That  is  to  say  their  crowns, 
florins,  and  money  of  all  kinds.  '  They  will  throw 
them  to  the  moles.'  That  is  to  the  blind,  for  you 
know,  doctor,  that  moles  are  blind.  The  unfortu- 
nate blind  creatures,  like  Father  Harich,  are  truly 
moles.  In  broad  daylight  they  walk  in  darkness, 
as  if  under  ground.  In  that  time  men  will  give 
their  money  to  the  blind  and  to  the  bats.  By  bats 
you  must  understand  the  old — old  women,  who  are 
no  longer  able  to  work,  who  are  bald,  and  sit  in  their 
chimney-corners,  like  Christine  Besme,  whom  yon 
know  as  well  as  I.  Poor  Christine  is  so  thin,  and 


i28  MADAME  THERESE 

has  so  little  hair,  that  one  naturally  thinks  when  one 
sees  her,  (  she's  a  bat.' ' 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  my  uncle,  in  a  peculiar  tone, 
nodding  his  head  slowly,  "  it  is  clear,  very  clear. 
Now  I  understand  your  book  ;  it  is  something  ad- 
mirable." 

"  Men  will  give  their  money  to  the  blind,  and  the 
old  women,  in  the  spirit  of  charity,"  continued  the 
mole-catcher,  "  and  that  will  be  the  end  of  misery 
in  this  world  ;  there  will  be  no  more  poor  people, 
'  in  seventy  weeks,'  which  are  not  weeks  of  days, 
but  weeks  of  months.  l  They  will  beat  their 
swords  into  ploughshares,  to  cultivate  the  earth,  and 
live  in  peace  !  ' 

This  explanation  of  the  moles  and  bats  had  struck 
me  so  forcibly  that  I  remained  with  eyes  stretched 
wide  open,  imagining  that  I  saw  this  wonderful 
transformation  in  the  dark  corner  where  my  uncle 
sat.  I  had  stopped  listening,  and  the  mole-catcher 
was  continuing  his  monotonous  reading,  when  the 
door  opened  again.  I  felt  my  flesh  creep.  If  old 
Harich  the  blind  man,  and  old  Christine,  had  come 
in  arm  in  arm,  in  their  new  forms,  I  would  not  have 
been  more  frightened.  I  turned  with  my  mouth 
open, — and  breathed  freely  ;  it  was  our  friend  Kof- 
fel,  who  had  come  in.  I  had  to  look  twice  before  1 


MADAME   THERESE  129 

recognized  him,  my  mind  was  so  filled  with  thoughts 
of  moles  and  bats. 

Koffel  wore  his  old  gray  winter  jacket,  a  cloth 
cap  drawn  over  his  ears,  and  great  shoes  run  down 
at  the  heels,  in  which  he  had  put  old  slippers  to  go 
out  in.  He  stood  with  knees  bent  and  hands  in  his 
pockets,  as  if  he  were  chilly  ;  innumerable  flakes  of 
snow  covered  him. 

"  Good-morning,  doctor,"  said  he,  shaking  his 
cap  in  the  entry,  "  I  am  late  ;  so  many  people 
stopped  me  on  the  way  to  the  '  Red  Ox,'  and  the 
t  Little  Gold  Pitcher.'  " 

"  Come  in,  Koffel.  Did  you  close  the  alley 
gate?" 

"  Yes,  Dr.  Jacob,  never  fear." 

He  came  in,  and  asked  smilingly: 

"  The  Gazette  didn't  come,  this  morning?  " 

"  No,  but  we  haven't  needed  it,"  said  my  uncle 
in  a  tone  of  comical  good  humor.  "  We  have  the 
mole-catcher's  book,  which  relates  the  past,  the  pres- 
ent, and  the  future." 

"  Does  it  also  relate  our  victory  ?  "  asked  Koffel, 
approaching  the  stove.  My  uncle  and  the  mole- 
catcher  looked  at  each  other  in  astonishment. 

"  What  victory?  "  asked  the  latter. 

"  Ah,  that  of  the  day  before  yesterday,  at  Kaisers- 

9 


I3o  MADAME  THERESE 

lautern.  They  are  talking  of  nothing  else  in  the 
village.  It  was  Richter,  M.  Richter,  who  came  up 
at  two  o'clock  to  bring  the  news.  They've  already 
emptied  fifty  bottles  at  the  '  Little  Gold  Pitcher ' 
in  honor  of  the  Prussians;  the  Republicans  are  en- 
tirely put  to  rout !  " 

"When  he  spoke  of  the  Republicans  we  looked 
toward  the  alcove,  fearing  that  the  French  woman 
might  hear  us.  It  pained  us,  for  we  knew  that  she 
was  a  good  woman,  and  we  thought  this  news  would 
cause  her  much  suffering.  Uncle  Jacob  raised  his 
hand  and  shook  his  head  sadly,  then  got  up  softly 
and  half-opened  the  curtains  to  see  if  Madame 
Therese  was  asleep. 

"It  is  you,  doctor,"  she  said  immediately;  "I 
have  listened  to  the  mole-catcher's  predictions  for 
an  hour;  I  have  heard  all." 

"  Ah,  Madame  Therese,"  said  my  uncle,  "  the 
news  is  false." 

"  I  don't  think  so,  doctor.  From  the  moment  a 
battle  was  fought  at  Kaiserslautern,  day  before  yes- 
terday, we  must  have  been  defeated;  otherwise  the 
French  would  have  marched  at  once  upon  Landau 
to  raise  the  siege,  and  cut  off  the  retreat  of  the 
Austrians.  Their  right  wing  would  have  passed 
through  the  village."  Then  raising  her  voice, 


MADAME   THERESE  !3I 

"  M.  Koffel,  will  you  tell  me  the  details  that  yon 
know." 

This  scene  will  always  remain  in  my  memory 
above  all  others,  for  we  saw  that  night  what  a 
woman  we  had  saved,  and  we  learned,  also,  what 
that  French  race  was  which  had  risen  en  masse  to 
convert  the  world. 

The  mole-catcher  had  taken  the  candle  from  the 
table  and  we  were  all  in  the  alcove.  I,  at  the  foot 
of  the  bed,  with  Scipio  beside  me,  looked  on  in  si- 
lence, and  saw  for  the  first  time  that  Madame 
Therese  had  become  so  thin  that  she  looked  like  a 
man;  her  long  bony  face  with  its  straight  nose, — 
the  shape  of  her  eyes, — the  sharp  chin  leaning  on 
her  hand;  her  lean  brown  arm  was  bared  nearly  to 
the  elbow,  escaping  from  the  sleeves  of  Lisbeth's 
coarse  chemise;  a  red  silk  handkerchief  tied  over 
her  forehead  hung  down  behind  her  neck.  We 
could  not  see  her  beautiful  black  hair,  but  only 
some  little  locks  over  her  ears,  from  which  hung 
large  gold  rings.  What  particularly  attracted  my 
attention  was  a  medal  of  bronze  which  hung  from 
her  neck,  representing  a  young  girl  in  a  cap  shaped 
like  a  casque.  I  knew  afterward  that  it  was  the 
image  of  the  Republic,  but  I  thought  it  then  the 
Holy  Virgin  of  the  French.  As  the  mole-catcher 


132  MADAME  THERESE 

raised  the  candle,  the  alcove  was  lighted  up,  and 
Madame  Therese  seemed  to  me  much  taller.  Her 
feet,  under  the  covering,  reached  the  foot  of  the 
bed.  I  had  never  before  noticed  these  things  which 
impressed  me  then.  She  looked  at  Koffel,  who 
looked  anxiously  at  Uncle  Jacob,  as  if  to  ask  him 
what  he  must  do. 

"  These  are  reports  which  are  current  in  the  vil- 
lage," said  he  with  embarrassment;  "  that  Eichter 
is  not  to  be  relied  upon." 

"  It  is  all  the  same,  M.  Koffel,  tell  me  the  news. 
The  doctor  allows  it.  Do  you  not,  doctor?  " 

"  Certainly,"  said  my  uncle,  reluctantly,  "  but 
we  must  not  believe  all  we  hear." 

"  No — they  exaggerate,  I  know  very  well;  but 
it  is  better  to  know  the  truth  than  to  imagine  a 
thousand  things;  it  is  less  tormenting." 

Koffel  then  told  us  that  two  days  before,  the 
French  had  attacked  Kaiserslautern,  and  from  seven 
in  the  morning  until  night,  had  fought  terribly, 
trying  to  enter  the  intrenchments;  the  Prussians 
had  destroyed  them  by  thousands;  one  saw  only 
dead  bodies  in  the  ditches  on  the  hill-sides,  along 
the  roads  and  in  the  Lauter.  The  French  had 
abandoned  everything;  their  cannon,  army-wag- 
ons, guns  and  pouches.  They  were  massacred 


MADAME   THERESE  133 

everywhere,  and  Brunswick's  cavalry,  sent  in  pur- 
suit, had  taken  a  great  number  of  prisoners. 

Madame  Therese,  her  chin  leaning  on  her  hand, 
her  eyes  fixed  on  the  opposite  wall,  and  lips  com- 
pressed, said  nothing.  She  listened,  and  when  Kof- 
fel  wished  to  stop,  for  it  gave  him  much  pain  to  re- 
late these  things  before  the  poor  woman, — she 
looked  at  him  very  calmly,  and  he  continued,  saying, 

"  They  say  this,  or  that,  but  I  don't  believe  it." 

At  last  he  finished,  and  Madame  Therese  re- 
mained silent,  lost  in  thought,  for  a  few  minutes. 
Then  my  uncle  said : 

"  All  these  are  only  rumors; — we  know  noth- 
ing positively.  You  would  do  wrong  to  grieve, 
Madame  Therese." 

She  raised  herself  slightly,  leaning  against  the 
bedstead,  and  said  very  simply, 

"  Listen,  it  is  clear  that  we  have  been  repulsed. 
But  do  not  think,  doctor,  that  that  discourages 
me.  No;  this  affair,  which  seems  very  consider- 
able to  you,  is  but  a  little  thing  to  me.  I  gaw  this 
same  Brunswick  arrive  in  Champagne,  at  the  head 
of  a  hundred  thousand  veterans,  uttering  procla- 
mations in  which  there  was  no  common-sense,  men- 
acing all  France,  and  then  driven  back  by  peasants 
in  wooden  shoes,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  as  far 


134  MADAME  THERESE 

as  Prussia.  My  father, — a  poor  school-master,  who 
had  become  major, — my  brothers — poor  laborers, 
who  had  become  captains  through  their  courage, — 
and  I  behind,  with  little  Jean  in  my  cart,  escorted 
him,  after  the  defiles  of  the  Argonne  and  the  battle 
of  Valmy.  Do  not  think  then  that  these  things 
alarm  me.  We  are  not  a  hundred  thousand  men, 
nor  two  hundred  thousand;  we  are  six  million 
peasants,  who  mean  to  eat,  ourselves,  the  bread  that 
we  have  earned  by  our  hard  labor.  It  is  just,  and 
God  is  with  us." 

She  said  this  with  animation,  extending  her  long 
bony  arm.  The  mole-catcher,  my  uncle  and  Koffel 
looked  at  each  other  in  stupefied  amazement. 

"  It  is  not  one  defeat,  nor  twenty,  nor  a  hundred 
which  can  conquer  us,"  she  continued.  "  When  one 
of  us  falls,  ten  others  rise.  It  is  not  for  the  King  of 
Prussia,  nor  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  that  we 
march;  it  is  for  the  abolition  of  privileges  of  all 
kinds,  for  liberty,  for  justice,  for  the  rights  of  man. 
In  order  to  conquer  us  it  will  be  necessary  to  ex- 
terminate every  one  of  us,"  added  she  with  a  strange 
smile,  "  and  that  is  not  so  easy  as  they  may  think. 
Only  it  is  very  unfortunate  that  so  many  thousands 
of  good  men,  on  your  side,  should  suffer  themselves 
to  be  massacred  for  kings  and  nobles,  who  are  their 


MADAME  THERESE  135 

greatest  enemies,  when  simple  good  sense  ought  to 
tell  them  to  join  us,  to  drive  away  all  these  oppress- 
ors of  the  poor.  Yes,  this  is  very  unfortunate,  and 
gives  me  more  pain  than  all  the  rest." 

She  lay  down  again,  and  Uncle  Jacob  remained 
silent  for  some  moments,  astonished  at  the  justice 
of  her  words.  The  mole-catcher  and  Koffel  looked 
at  each  other  in  silence;  but  it  was  easy  to  see 
that  the  Frenchwoman's  reflections  had  struck  them 
and  that  they  were  thinking : 

"She  is  right!" 

At  last  my  uncle  said: 

"  Be  calm,  Madame  Therese,  be  calm!  All  will 
be  well.  We  agree  in  many  things;  if  it  depended 
upon  me,  we  would  soon  be  at  peace." 

"  Yes,  doctor,  I  know  it,  for  you  are  a  just  man, 
and  we  only  want  justice." 

"  Try  to  forget  all  that,"  said  Uncle  Jacob  again, 
"  Nothing  is  so  necessary  as  quiet,  if  you  wish  to 
get  well." 

"  I  will  try,  doctor." 

Then  we  came  out  of  the  alcove,  and  my  uncle 
looking  at  us  dreamily,  said : 

"  It  is  almost  ten  o'clock.  We  must  go  to  bed 
• — it  is  time." 

He  saw  Koffel  and  the  mole-catcher  out,  and 


136  MADAME  THERESE 

pushed  the  bolt  as  usual.  I  had  already  gone  up- 
stairs. That  night  I  heard  him  walking  in  his 
room  a  long  time.  He  paced  up  and  down  with 
the  slow  measured  step  of  a  man  who  is  reflect- 
ing. At  last  every  sound  ceased,  and  I  went  to 
sleep  under  God's  protection. 


THE  next  morning,  when  I  awoke,  my  little  win- 
dows were  covered  with  snow.  It  will  still  falling 
so  that  I  could  not  see  the  opposite  house.  Out-of- 
doors  the  bells  of  Uncle  Jacob's  sleigh  were  tin- 
kling, and  his  horse,  Rappel,  was  neighing,  but  no 
other  sound  was  heard;  the  people  in  the  village 
had  all  been  careful  to  close  their  doors.  I  thought 
it  must  be  something  extraordinary  that  could  call 
my  uncle  out  in  such  weather,  and  after  dressing, 
hurried  downstairs  to  find  out  what  it  could  be. 
The  door  was  open;  Uncle  Jacob,  up  to  his  knees 
in  snow,  his  large  otter-skin  cap  drawn  over  his 
ears,  and  the  collar  of  his  overcoat  turned  up,  was 
hastily  arranging  a  bundle  of  straw  in  the  sled. 

"  Are  you  going  away,  uncle?  "  I  said,  going  to 
the  door. 

"  Yes,  Fritzel,  yes,  I'm  going  away,"  said  he  in 
a  joyful  tone.  "  Do  you  want  to  go  with  me?  " 

I  liked  very  much  to  go  in  the  sleigh,  but  seeing 


I38  MADAME   THERESE 

the  great  snow-flakes  whirling  through  the  air,  and 
thinking  it  would  be  cold,  I  answered: 

"  Another  day,  uncle;  I'd  rather  stay  at  home 
to-day." 

Then  he  laughed,  and  came  in  again,  pinching 
my  ear,  as  he  always  did  when  in  a  good  humor. 
We  went  into  the  kitchen  where  the  fire  was  danc- 
ing on  the  hearth,  and  giving  out  good  heat.  Lis- 
beth  was  washing  dishes  before  the  little  window 
with  round  panes,  which  opened  on  the  yard.  All 
was  quiet  in  the  kitchen.  The  great  soup  tureens 
seemed  to  shine  more  than  usual,  and  on  their 
rounded  sides  danced  fifty  little  flames,  like  those 
on  the  hearth. 

"  Now  I'm  ready,"  said  my  uncle,  opening  the 
larder,  and  putting  a  crust  of  bread  in  his  pocket. 

He  put  under  his  coat  the  flask  of  kirschen- 
wasscr,  which  he  always  carried  in  travelling. 
Then,  as  he  was  about  to  enter  the  sitting-room,  his 
hand  on  the  latch,  he  told  the  old  servant  not  to 
forget  his  directions;  to  keep  up  good  fires  every- 
where; to  leave  the  door  open  that  she  might  hear 
Madame  Therese,  and  to  give  her  all  she  asked  for, 
except  anything  to  eat, — for  she  must  have  only 
broth  morning  and  evening,  with  vegetables, — and 
not  to  contradict  her  in  anything.  Then  he  went  in, 


MADAME   THERESE  139 

and  I  followed,  thinking  what  pleasure  I  should 
have  when  he  was  gone,  running  about  the  village 
with  my  friend  Scipio,  and  proudly  displaying  his 
talents. 

"  "Well,  Madame  Therese,"  said  Uncle  Jacob, 
gayly,  "  here  I  am,  ready  for  departure.  What  fine 
weather  to  go  sleighing!  " 

Madame  Therese  raised  herself  on  her  elbow  in 
the  alcove — the  curtains  were  drawn  aside — and 
looked  toward  the  windows  with  a  melancholy  ex- 
pression. 

"  Are  you  going  to  see  a  patient,  doctor? "  said 
she. 

"  Yes,  a  poor  wood-cutter  of  Dannboch,  three 
leagues  from  here,  who  was  run  over  by  his  sled. 
It  is  a  serious  injury  and  will  allow  of  no  delay." 

"  What  a  hard  business  yours  is !  "  said  she,  sym- 
pathizingly.  "  To  go  out  in  such  weather  as  this 
to  help  an  unfortunate  man,  who  will,  perhaps, 
never  appreciate  your  services." 

"  Ah,  no  doubt,"  said  my  uncle,  filling  his  large 
porcelain  pipe,  "  that  has  often  happened,  but  what 
would  you  have?  Because  a  man  is  poor  is  no  rea- 
son why  we  should  let  him  die ;  we  are  all  brothers, 
Madame  Therese,  and  the  poor  have  a  right  to  live 
as  well  as  the  rich." 


I4o  MADAME  THERESE 

"  Yes,  you  are  right,  and  yet  how  many  in  yor» 
place  would  remain  quietly  by  their  fireside,  in- 
stead of  risking  their  lives  only  for  the  pleasure  of 
doing  good."  And  raising  her  eyes  expressively, 
she  added:  "  Doctor,  you  are  a  Republican." 

"I,  Madame  Therese!  "What  do  you  mean?" 
cried  he,  laughing. 

"  Yes,  a  true  Republican — a  man  who  stops  at 
nothing,  who  disregards  all  suffering,  all  privation, 
to  do  his  duty." 

"  Well,  if  you  understand  it  so,  I  am  happy  to 
deserve  that  name.  But  in  all  parties  and  all  coun- 
tries in  the  world,  there  are  such  men." 

"  Then,  M.  Jacob,  they  are  Republicans  without 
knowing  it." 

My  uncle  could  not  help  smiling. 

"  You  have  a  reply  for  everything,"  said  he, 
putting  his  package  of  tobacco  into  the  large 
pocket  of  his  overcoat;  "  one  cannot  argue  with 
you." 

A  few  minutes'  silence  followed  these  words. 
My  uncle  struck  a  light.  I  had  Scipio's  head  in  my 
arms,  and  was  thinking:  "  I  hold  you.  You'll  fol- 
low me.  We'll  come  back  to  dinner,  and  then  we'll 
go  out  again."  The  horse  was  neighing  outside; 
Madame  Therese  wae  watching  the  great  flakes 


MADAME   THERESE  141 

which  fell  against  the  panes,  when  my  uncle,  who 
had  lighted  his  pipe,  said : 

"  I  shall  be  absent  until  evening.  But  Fritzel 
will  keep  you  company.  The  time  will  not  seem 
too  long." 

He  passed  his  hand  through  my  hair,  and  I  be- 
came as  red  as  a  lobster,  which  made  Madame 
Therese  smile. 

"  Oh,  no,  doctor,"  said  she,  kindly,  "  it  never 
wearies  me  to  be  alone;  we  must  let  Fritzel  run  out 
with  Scipio;  it  will  do  them  good.  And  they 
would  rather  breathe  the  fresh  air  than  be  shut  up 
in  the  room — isn't  it  so,  Fritzel?  " 

"  Oh  yes,  Madame  Therese !  "  replied  I,  giving 
a  great  sigh  of  relief. 

"  How !  aren't  you  ashamed  to  speak  in  that  man- 
ner? "  cried  my  uncle. 

"  Why  not,  doctor?  Fritzel  is  like  little  Jean; 
he  says  whatever  he  thinks,  and  he  is  right.  Go, 
Fritzel,  run,  amuse  yourself:  your  uncle  gives  you 
leave." 

How  I  loved  her  then,  and  how  sweet  her  smile 
appeared  to  me!  Uncle  Jacob  laughed,  took  his 
whip  from  the  corner  behind  the  door,  and  said : 

"Well,  Madame  Therese,  au  revoir  and  good 
courage !  " 


I42  MADAME   THERESE 

"  Au  revoir,  doctor,"  said  she,  with  feeling,  ex- 
tending her  slim  hand  to  him.  "  Go,  and  heaven 
guard  you." 

They  remained  thus  for  some  moments,  thought- 
ful, then  my  uncle  said: 

"  I  shall  be  back  this  evening  between  six  and 
seven,  Madame  Therese;  have  faith,  be  tranquil, 
and  all  will  go  well." 

Then  he  went  out.  He  sprang  into  the  sleigh, 
wrapped  his  overcoat  around  his  knees,  touched 
Rappel  with  his  whip,  saying  to  me, 

"  Behave  yourself,  Fritzel!  " 

The  sleigh  glided  noiselessly  away  up  the  street. 
Some  good  people  who  were  looking  from  their 
windows,  said: 

"  Dr.  Jacob  is  surely  called  somewhere  to  a  per- 
son dangerously  ill,  otherwise  he  would  not  travel 
in  such  a  snow." 

When  my  uncle  had  disappeared  round  the  cor- 
ner of  the  street,  I  closed  the  door,  and  went  in  to 
eat  my  soup  by  the  fire.  Scipio  watched  me,  his 
great  moustaches  upturned,  licking  his  mouth  and 
winking.  I  let  him  have  my  plate  to  clean,  as  usual, 
which  he  did  gravely,  not  greedily,  like  the  other 
dogs  in  the  village.  We  had  finished,  and  were  go- 
ing out,  when  Lisbeth,  who  had  just  done  her  work, 


MADAME   THERESE 


143 


and  was  wiping  her  arms  on  the  towel  behind  the 
door,  said : 

"  What,  Fritzel,  are  you  not  going  to  stay  at 
home?" 

"  No,  I'm  going  to  see  little  Hans  Aden." 

"  Well,  listen.  Since  you've  put  on  your  boots, 
go  to  the  mole-catcher's  to  get  some  honey  for  the 
Frenchwoman.  The  doctor  wants  her  to  have  a 
drink  with  honey  in  it.  Take  your  cup  and  go 
down  there.  Tell  the  mole-catcher  it's  for  Uncle 
Jacob.  Here's  the  money." 

Nothing  pleased  me  more  than  to  have  errands 
to  do,  especially  at  the  mole-catcher's,  who  treated 
me  as  a  reasonable  man  should.  I  took  the  cup, 
and  started  with  Scipio  for  his  house  in  Orties 
Lane,  behind  the  church.  Some  gossips  were  be- 
ginning to  sweep  their  sidewalks.  At  the  inn  of 
the  Little  Golden  Pitcher  we  could  hear  the  glasses 
and  bottles  tinkling.  They  were  singing  and 
laughing  and  going  up  and  down  stairs;  which 
seemed  to  me  extraordinary  on  Friday.  I  stopped 
to  see  if  it  were  a  wedding  or  a  christening,  and  as 
I  stood  on  tiptoe,  on  the  other  side  of  the  street, 
looking  into  the  little  open  entry,  I  saw,  in  the 
kitchen,  the  mole-catcher's  singular  profile  bend- 
ing over  the  fire,  his  black  stump  of  a  pipe  in  the 


144  MADAME  THERESE 

corner  of  his  mouth,  his  brown  hand  placing  a  coal 
on  the  tobacco.  Farther  on  to  the  right  I  saw,  too, 
old  Gredel  in  her  cap  with  floating  ribbons.  She 
was  arranging  plates  on  a  dresser,  and  her  gray  cat 
walked  on  the  edge  of  it,  setting  up  her  back,  and 
holding  her  tail  in  the  air. 

In  a  moment  the  mole-catcher  came  slowly  into 
the  dark  entry  smoking  his  pipe.  Then  I  cried : 

"  Mole-catcher!  mole-catcher!  " 

He  came  to  the  edge  of  the  steps,  and  said, 
laughing : 

"  Is  it  you,  Fritzel? " 

"  Yes,  I'm  going  to  your  house  to  get  some 
honey." 

"  Well,  come  up,  then,  and  take  a  drink.  We'll 
go  together  at  once."  And  turning  toward  the 
kitchen,  "  Gredel,"  cried  he,  "  bring  a  glass  for 
Fritzel." 

I  ran  up  the  steps,  and  we  went  in,  with  Scipio 
at  our  heels.  In  the  saloon  we  could  see  through 
the  gray  smoke,  along  the  tables,  men  in  blouses, 
in  jackets,  in  waistcoats,  their  caps  or  felt  hats 
drawn  orer  their  «ars.  Some  seated  in  a  row, 
otktrs  astridt  beaches,  raising  their  full  glasses  joy- 
fully, amd  eolebratinf  tie  great  victory  of  Kaisers- 
lautern.  On  all  aides  we  keard  them  singing  tie 


MADAME  THERESE  145 

"  Fatherland"  Some  old  women  were  drink- 
ing with  their  sons,  and  seemed  as  merry  as  the 
others. 

I  followed  the  mole-catcher  toward  the  windows 
that  overlooked  the  street.  There  we  found  friena 
Koffel  and  old  Adam  Schmitt  in  the  corner,  before 
a  bottle  of  white  wine.  In  the  opposite  corner  were 
the  innkeeper,  Joseph  Spick,  his  woollen  cap  drawn 
over  his  ears,  like  a  bully,  and  M.  Richter  in  hunt- 
ing-jacket and  great  leather  gaiters,  drinking  a  bot- 
tle of  green-sealed  gleiszeller.  They  were  both 
purple,  up  to  their  ears,  and  were  shouting: 

"  To  the  health  of  Brunswick!  To  the  health  of 
our  glorious  army !  " 

"  Here !  "  said  the  mole-catcher,  approaching  our 
table,  "  make  room  for  a  man !  " 

And  Koffel,  turning  round,  shook  my  hand  while 
Father  Schmitt  said: 

"  Well  and  good,  well  and  good,  here's  a  re- 
inforcement for  us!  " 

He  seated  me  near  him,  against  the  wall,  and 
Scipio  came  immediately  to  rub  his  hand  with  the 
end  of  his  nose,  with  the  air  of  an  old  acquaintance. 

"Ha!  ha!  ha!"  said  the  old  soldier:  "it's  you, 
old  fellow — you  know  me!  " 

Gredel  brought  a  glass,  and  the  mole-catcher 
10 


I46  MADAME  THERESE 

filled  it.  At  that  moment,  M.  Eichter  cried  sneer- 
ingly,  from  the  other  end  of  the  table : 

"Ha,  Fritzel!  how's  Dr.  Jacob?  He  doesn't 
come  to  celebrate  the  great  battle!  It  is  astonish- 
ing, astonishing,  such  a  good  patriot !  " 

And  I,  not  knowing  what  to  reply,  said  in  a  low 
tone  to  Koffel: 

"  Uncle  has  gone  in  his  sleigh  to  see  a  poor  wood- 
cutter, who  was  run  over  by  his  sled." 

Then  Koffel,  turning,  cried  in  a  clear  voice — 

"  While  the  grandson  of  Salm-Salm's  old  ser- 
vant stretches  out  his  legs  under  the  table,  near 
the  stove,  and  drinks  gleiszeller  in  honor  of  the 
Prussians  who  laugh  at  him,  Dr.  Jacob  goes 
through  the  snow  to  see  a  poor  wood-cutter  on  the 
mountain,  who  has  been  run  over  by  his  sled.  That 
pays  less  than  lending  money  on  heavy  interest, 
but  it  shows  more  heart,  nevertheless." 

Koffel  had  drunk  a  little  too  much,  and  all  the 
men  were  listening  and  smiling.  Richter,  with  a 
long  face  and  compressed  lips,  did  not  answer  at 
first,  but  after  a  moment  he  said — 

"  What  wouldn't  we  do  for  the  love  of  the 
Eights  of  Man,  for  the  Goddess  of  Keason,  and 
the  Maximum,  above  all  when  a  real  citoyenne 
encourages  you! " 


MADAME   THERESE  147 

"  M.  Richter,  be  silent!  "  cried  the  mole-catcher 
in  a  loud  voice.  "  Dr.  Jacob  is  as  good  a  German 
as  you,  and  that  woman,  of  whom  you  speak  with- 
out knowing  her,  is  a  good  woman.  Dr.  Jacob  has 
only  done  his  duty  in  saving  her  life.  You  ought 
to  be  ashamed  to  excite  the  men  of  the  village 
against  a  poor  sick  creature  who  can't  defend  her- 
self: it's  abominable!  " 

"  I'll  be  silent  when  it  suits  me,"  cried  Richter  in 
his  turn.  "  You  talk  very  loud — one  would  think 
that  the  French  had  gained  the  victory !  " 

Then  the  mole-catcher,  his  face  as  red  as  fire, 
Struck  his  fist  on  the  table,  making  the  glasses  fall 
over.  He  partly  rose,  but  reseated  himself,  and 
said: 

"  I  have  a  right  to  rejoice  in  the  victories  of  old 
Germany,  at  least  quite  as  much  as  you,  M.  Rich- 
ter, for  I  am  a~  old  German  like  my  father,  and  my 
grandfather,  and  all  the  mole-catchers  known  for 
two  hundred  years  in  the  village  of  Anstatt  for  the 
raising  of  bees,  and  the  catching  of  moles;  while 
the  cooks  of  the  Salm-Salms  wandered  through 
France  with  their  masters,  to  turn  the  spit,  and 
lick  the  bottom  of  the  pots." 

Everybody  in  the  room  burst  out  laughing  at 
this  speech,  and  M.  Richter,  seeing  that  most  of 


I48  MADAME   THER^SE 

them  were  against  him,  judged  it  prudent  to  be 
moderate,  and  replied,  therefore,  in  a  calm  tone: 

"  I've  never  said  anything  against  you  nor  Dr. 
Jacob;  on  the  contrary,  I  know  that  the  doctor's 
an  able  man,  and  an  honest  man.  But  that  doesn't 
prevent  every  good  German  from  rejoicing  on  such. 
a  day.  For,  listen,  it's  not  an  ordinary  victory,  it's 
the  end  of  that  famous  Republic,  '  one  and  indi- 
visible.' " 

"How!  how!  "  cried  old  Schmitt,  "the  end  of 
the  Republic?  That's  a  piece  of  news!  " 

"  Yes,  it  won't  last  six  months  longer,"  said 
Richter  with  assurance,  "  for,  from  Kaiserslautern 
the  French  will  be  driven  to  Hornbach,  from  Horn- 
bach  to  Sarrebruck,  to  Metz,  and  thus  to  Paris. 
Once  in  France  we  will  find  crowds  of  friends  to 
help  us;  the  nobility,  the  clergy,  and  the  respecta- 
ble people  are  all  on  our  side.  They  only  await 
the  coming  of  our  army  to  rise.  And  as  to  this 
troop  of  beggars,  gathered  from  right  and  left,  with- 
out officers  and  without  discipline,  what  can  they 
do  against  old  soldiers,  firm  as  rocks,  advancing  in 
order  of  battle,  under  the  lead  of  the  old  warrior 
race?  Crowds  of  bunglers  without  a  single  gen- 
eral, without  even  a  real  corporal  schlague!  Peas- 
ants, mendicants,  true  *  sans  culottes?  as  they  call 


MADAME  THERESE  149 

themselves, — I  ask  you  what  can  they  do  against 
Brunswick,  Wurmser,  and  hundreds  of  other  old 
captains,  tried  by  all  the  perils  of  the  Seven  Years' 
War?  They  will  be  scattered  and  will  perish  by 
thousands  like  grasshoppers  in  autumn." 

Everybody  in  the  room  seemed  to  be  of  Richter's 
opinion,  and  several  said : 

"  Well  and  good,  he  speaks  truly.  We've 
thought  the  same  for  a  long  time." 

The  mole-catcher  and  Koffel  were  silent;  but 
old  Adam  Schmitt  shook  his  head  and  smiled. 
After  a  moment's  silence  he  laid  his  pipe  on  the 
table,  and  said: 

"M.  Richter,  you  speak  like  an  almanac;  you 
predict  the  future  in  an  admirable  manner;  but 
it's  not  all  so  clear  to  others  as  to  you.  I  am  will- 
ing to  believe  that  the  old  race  is  born  to  make 
generals,  since  nobles  all  come  into  the  world  cap- 
tains. But  occasionally  generals  can  also  come 
from  the  race  of  peasants,  and  they  do  not  make 
the  worst  ones,  for  they  become  generals  through 
their  own  bravery.  These  Republicans,  who  seem 
to  you  such  fools,  have  sometimes  good  ideas,  for 
all  that;  for  example,  they  have  a  rule  that  any 
one  can  become  a  field-marshal,  if  he  have  the 
courage  and  capacity;  on  this  account  all  the  sol- 


150  MADAME   THERESE 

diers  figkt  furiously.  They  hold  in  their  ranks  as 
firmly  as  if  they  were  nailed,  and  march  forward 
like  cannon  balls,  for  they  know  that  if  they  dis- 
tinguish themselves  they  have  a  chance  of  becom- 
ing captains,  colonels,  or  generals.  The  Germans 
fight  to  give  themselves  masters;  the  French  fight 
to  get  rid  of  them;  which  makes  a  great  difference. 
I  watched  them  from  Father  Diemer's  window,  on 
the  first  floor,  opposite  the  fountain,  during  the  two 
charges  of  the  Croats  and  lancers — magnificent 
charges; — well,  it  astonished  me  very  much,  M. 
Richter,  to  see  how  those  Jacobins  bore  themselves. 
And  their  colonel  gave  me  real  pleasure,  with  his 
great  Lorraine  peasant's  face,  and  small  wild-boar's 
eyes.  He  wasn't  as  well  dressed  as  a  Prussian 
major,  but  he  sat  his  horse  as  tranquilly  as  if  they 
were  playing  an  air  on  the  clarionet  for  him.  They 
retreated  at  last,  it  is  true,  but  they  had  a  division 
at  their  backs,  and  left  only  the  guns  and  pouches 
of  the  dead  on  the  square.  Such  soldiers,  believe 
me,  M.  Eichter,  are  men  of  expedients.  The  old 
warrior  races  are  good,  but  the  young  grow  in  their 
shade,  as  young  oaks  under  large  ones,  and  when 
the  old  decay  the  young  take  their  place.  I  do  not 
believe,  therefore,  that  the  Republicans  run  away 
as  you  say.  They  are  already  famous  soldiers,  and 


MADAME   THERESE  151 

if  a  general  or  two  comes,  take  care!  And  this  is 
not  at  all  impossible,  for  among  twelve  or  fifteen 
hundred  thousand  peasants  there's  more  choice 
than  between  ten  or  twelve  thousand  nobles.  The 
race  is  not  so  fine,  perhaps,  but  it's  stronger!  " 

Old  Schmitt  stopped  a  moment  to  take  breath, 
and  then,  as  everybody  was  listening,  added — 

"  Here  am  I,  for  example ;  if  I  had  had  the 
happiness  of  being  born  in  such  a  country,  do  you 
believe  that  I  would  have  contented  myself  with 
being  Adam  Schmitt,  with  a  pension  of  a  hundred 
florins,  six  wounds  and  fifteen  campaigns?  No,  no, 
drive  that  idea  out  of  your  head.  I  should  have 
been  captain,  colonel  or  general  Schmitt,  with  a 
good  pension  of  two  thousand  dollars,  or  else  my 
bones  would  have  been  resting  somewhere,  long 
ago.  When  courage  is  a  highway  to  distinction, 
one  has  courage,  and  when  it  serves  only  to  make 
one  a  sergeant  and  promote  the  nobles,  each  one 
takes  care  of  his  skin." 

"  And  education,"  cried  Richter,  "  do  you  count 
education  nothing?  Is  a  man  who  don't  know  how 
to  read  worth  as  much  as  a  Duke  of  Brunswick  who 
knows  everything  ? " 

Then  Koffel,  turning,  said  calmly, 

"You  are  right,  M.  Richter,  education  makes 


152  MADAME   THERESE 

half,  perhaps  three-quarters  of  a  man.  This  is 
why  these  Republicans  fight  to  the  death;  they 
wish  their  sons  to  receive  education  as  well  as  the 
nobles.  It  is  the  want  of  education  which  causes 
bad  conduct  and  poverty;  poverty  causes  wicked 
temptations,  and  wicked  temptations  lead  to  all  the 
vices.  The  greatest  crime  of  those  who  govern  in 
this  world  is  refusing  education  to  the  poor,  so  that 
their  noble  race  may  always  be  above  them.  It  is 
as  if  they  put  out  people's  eyes  when  they  come 
into  the  world,  to  profit  by  their  labor.  God  will 
avenge  these  sins,  M.  Eichter,  for  He  is  just.  And 
if  the  Republicans  shed  their  blood,  as  they  say,  to 
prevent  such  abuses,  all  religious  men  who  believe 
in  immortality  ought  to  approve  of  them."  So 
Koffel  spoke,  adding  that  if  his  parents  had  been 
able  to  educate  him,  he  might  perhaps  have  done 
honor  to  Anstatt,  and  have  been  of  some  use,  in- 
stead of  being  a  poor  devil. 

Every  one  agreed  with  him,  and  several  said 
among  themselves: 

"  What  would  we  have  been  if  we  had  been  ed- 
ucated? Are  we  more  stupid  than  other  people? 
No,  heaven  gives  to  all  the  bright  sun  and  the 
heavy  dew.  We  had  good  intentions :  we  appealed 
for  justice;  but  they  left  us  in  the  darkness,  in  a 


MADAME  THERESE  153 

•pirit  of  calculation,  to  keep  us  down.  These  men 
think  to  elevate  themselves  by  preventing  other* 
from  rising;  it  is  abominable!  " 

And  I,  remembering  how  much  trouble  Uncle 
Jacob  had  taken  to  teach  me  to  read  in  Buffon, 
repented  that  I  had  not  profited  more  by  his  les- 
sons, and  was  much  affected.  M.  Eichter,  seeing 
everybody  against  him,  and  not  knowing  how  to 
reply  to  Koffel's  judicious  words,  shrugged  his 
shoulders  as  if  to  say,  "  These  are  fools  inflated 
with  pride,  creatures  who  need  to  be  brought  to 
reason."  But  silence  was  beginning  to  prevail, 
and  the  mole-catcher  had  just  ordered  a  second 
bottle  to  be  brought,  when  dull  growls  were  heard 
under  the  table.  We  at  once  saw  M.  Richter's 
great  red  dog  walking  around  Scipio.  This  dog  was 
called  Max;  his  hair  was  short,  his  nose  flat,  and 
his  ribs  protruding;  he  had  yellow  eyes,  long  ears, 
and  tail  raised  like  a  sabre.  He  was  large,  lean  and 
muscular.  M.  Richter  was  accustomed  to  hunt  with 
him  whole  days  without  giving  him  anything  to  eat, 
under  pretext  that  good  hunting  dogs  ought  to  be 
hungry  to  scent  the  game  and  follow  in  its  track. 
He  wanted  to  get  behind  Scipio,  who  kept  turning 
round,  his  head  raised,  and  his  lips  trembling. 
Looking  toward  M.  Richter,  I  saw  that  he  was 


154  MADAME   THERESE 

slily  urging  his  dog  on.  Father  Schmitt  noticed  it 
also,  for  he  said : 

"  M.  Bichter,  you  are  wrong  to  urge  your  dog. 
This  spaniel  you  see  is  a  soldier's  dog,  full  of  cun- 
ning, and  knows  all  the  stratagems  of  war.  Yours 
may  be  of  an  old  race,  but  take  care — this  dog's 
capable  of  strangling  him." 

"  Strangle  my  dog!  "  cried  Bichter.  "  He  could 
swallow  ten  like  this  miserable  cur.  With  a  sin- 
gle bite  he  could  break  his  back!  " 

When  I  heard  this,  I  wanted  to  run  away  with 
Scipio,  for  M.  Bichter  was  urging  his  great  Max, 
and  all  the  drinkers  turned  round,  laughing,  to  see 
the  battle.  I  was  going  to  cry,  but  old  Schmitt 
held  me  by  the  shoulder,  saying  in  a  low  voice: 

"  Be  quiet,  be  quiet, — fear  nothing,  Fritzel.  I 
tell  you  our  dog  understands  politics — the  other 
is  only  a  great  beast  that  has  seen  nothing  of  the 
world."  And  turning  to  Scipio,  he  said  to  him 
again  and  again,  "  Attention !  attention !  " 

Scipio  did  not  stir.  He  stood  back  in  the  cor- 
ner of  the  window,  his  head  erect,  his  eyes  shining 
under  his  thick  curly  hair,  and  in  the  corner  of  his 
trembling  moustache  we  could  see  one  very  sharp- 
pointed  white  tooth.  The  big  red  dog  advanced, 
his  head  stretched  forward,  and  his  hair  standing 


MADAME  THERESE  155 

up  on  his  lean  back.  They  both  growled;  then. 
Max  made  a  leap  to  seize  Scipio  by  the  throat. 
Three  or  four  short,  terrible  cries  were  heard. 
Scipio  had  bent  down  while  the  other  caught  him 
by  the  hair,  and  with  one  bite  he  snapped  at  his 
paw.  Then  you  should  have  heard  Max's  distress- 
ing cries,  and  seen  him  steal  off,  limping,  under  the 
tables;  he  fled  like  lightning  between  the  legs  of 
the  guests,  repeating  his  sharp  cries,  which  pierced 
one's  ears.  M.  Richter  rose  furiously  to  attack 
Scipio,  but  the  mole-catcher  took  his  stick  from  be- 
hind the  door,  and  said: 

"  M.  Richter,  if  your  great  beast  is  bitten,  whose 
fault  is  it?  You  urged  him  on  to  do  it.  If  he  is 
maimed  now,  it  will  teach  you  better." 

And  old  Schmitt,  laughing  and  crying,  called 
Scipio  between  his  knees,  and  said, 

"  I  knew  very  well  that  he  understood  the  strata- 
gems of  war!  He!  he!  he!  we've  brought  off  the 
flags  and  the  cannon !  " 

All  his  audience  laughed  with  him,  so  that  M. 
Richter  angrily  kicked  his  dog  into  the  street  so  as 
not  to  hear  his  cries.  He  would  have  been  glad  to 
do  the  same  to  Scipio,  but  everybody  was  astonished 
at  the  dog's  courage,  and  natural  good  sense. 

"  Come,"  cried  the  mole-catcher,  rising   "  come 


156  MADAME  THERESE 

now,  Fritzel,  it's  time  I  gave  you  what  you  wanted. 
I  congratulate  you,  M.  Richter;  you  have  a  fa- 
mous dog.  Gredel,  set  down  two  bottles  on  the 
slate." 

Schmitt  and  Koffel  also  rose,  and  we  all  went 
out  together,  laughing  heartily.  Scipio  kept  near 
us,  knowing  that  he  had  nothing  good  to  hope 
for  when  we  were  gone.  At  the  foot  of  the  steps, 
Schmitt  and  Koffel  turned  to  the  right  to  go  down 
the  main  street,  and  the  mole-catcher  and  I  crossed 
the  square,  on  the  left,  to  Orties  Lane.  The  mole- 
catcher  walked  in  front,  stooping,  one  shoulder 
higher  than  the  other,  as  was  his  habit,  drawing 
great  puffs,  one  after  another,  from  his  pipe,  and 
laughing  to  himself,  doubtless  at  the  remembrance 
of  Richter's  discomfiture.  We  soon  arrived  at  his 
small  door,  which  was  in  the  basement.  As  we 
went  down  the  steps  he  said  to  me : 

"  Come,  Fritzel,  come;  leave  the  dog  outside, 
for  there's  none  too  much  room  in  the  hole." 

He  was  right  in  calling  his  hut  a  "  hole,"  for  it 
had  only  two  little  windows,  even  with  the  ground, 
opening  on  the  street.  Inside,  all  was  dark;  the 
large  bed  and  the  wooden  staircase,  the  old  stools, 
the  table  covered  with  saws,  brads  and  tweezers,  the 
wardrobe  adorned  with  two  squashes,  the  ceiling 


MADAME  THERESE  157 

crossed  by  poles  where  old  Berbel,  the  mole-catch- 
er's mother,  hung  the  hemp  which  she  had  spun; 
traps  of  all  sorts  placed  on  the  canopy  of  the  bed,  in 
an  alcove  gray  with  dust  and  cobwebs;  hundreds 
of  martens'  and  weasels'  skins  hanging  from  the 
walls,  some  turned  inside  out,  others  still  fresh  and 
stuffed  with  straw  to  dry  them; — all  these  left  you 
hardly  room  enough  to  turn  round,  and  the  thought 
of  them  recalls  the  happy  time  of  my  youth,  for  I 
have  seen  them  a  hundred  times,  summer  and  win- 
ter, rain  or  shine,  whether  the  little  windows  were 
open  or  shut.  I  always  picture  the  mole-catcher  to 
myself,  in  that  room,  seated  at  the  table,  showing 
his  traps,  his  mouth  twisted,  lips  compressed,  and 
old  Berbel, — yellow-skinned,  her  horse-hair  cap  on 
the  back  of  her  head,  her  little  dry  hands  with  long 
black  nails,  streaked  with  large  blue  veins,  spin- 
ning from  morning  till  night  beside  the  stove. 
Once  in  a  while  she  would  raise  her  old  wrinkled 
face,  and  look  at  her  son  with  an  air  of  satisfaction. 
But  that  day  Berbel  was  not  in  a  good  humor,  for 
we  had  hardly  entered  before  she  began  to  scold 
the  mole-catcher  in  a  sharp  voice,  declaring  that  he 
was  passing  his  life  at  the  tavern,  that  he  thought 
of  nothing  but  drinking,  and  did  not  provide  for 
the  future — false  charges,  to  which  the  mole- 


158  MADAME   THERESE 

catcher  did  not  reply,  knowing  that  he  must  hear  all 
his  mother  said  without  complaining.  He  quietly 
opened  the  closet  while  old  Berbel  scolded,  and 
took  from  the  highest  shelf  a  large  glazed  earthen 
pot,  in  which  honey  as  yellow  as  gold,  in  combs 
white  as  snow,  lay  in  regular  layers.  He  put  it  on 
the  table,  and  taking  out  two  fine  combs,  which  he 
put  on  a  very  clean  plate,  said  to  me : 

"  Here's  some  beautiful  honey  for  the  French 
lady,  Fritzel.  Honey  in  the  comb  is  the  best  thing 
in  the  world  for  sick  people.  It  is  nicer,  and  then 
it  is  so  fresh  and  wholesome !  " 

I  had  already  placed  the  money  on  the  edge  of 
the  table,  and  Berbel  was  stretching  out  her  hand 
for  it,  very  willingly,  but  the  mole-catcher  gave  it 
back  to  me. 

"  No,"  said  he,  "no;  I  won't  be  paid  for  it;  put 
the  money  in  your  pocket,  Fritzel,  and  take  the 
plate.  Leave  your  pot  here.  I'll  take  it  to  you  this 
evening,  or  to-morrow  morning."  And  as  the  old 
woman  seemed  angry,  he  added :  "  Tell  the  French 
lady,  Fritzel,  that  the  mole-catcher  makes  her  a 
present  of  tlrs  honey  with  pleasure — do  you  hear? 
— with  all  his  heart — for  she's  a  respectable  wom- 
an. Don't  forget  to  say  l  respectable/ — do  you 
mind?" 


MADAME  THERESE  159 

"  Yes,  mole-catcher,  I'll  tell  her.  Good-day,  Ber- 
bel,"  said  I,  opening  the  door. 

She  answered  by  nodding  her  head  abruptly. 
The  avaricious  old  woman  would  not  say  anything 
on  Uncle  Jacob's  account,  but  it  seemed  very  hard 
to  her  to  see  the  honey  going  without  being  paid 
for.  The  mole-catcher  saw  me  out,  and  I  turned 
homeward,  well  satisfied  with  what  had  just  hap- 
pened. 


XI 

AT  the  corner  of  the  church  I  met  little  Hans 
Aden,  who  was  coming  back  from  sliding  on  the 
pond.     He  turned  round,  his  hands  in  his  pock- 
ets up  to  his  elbows,  and  called  out: 
"Fritzel!    Fritzel!  " 

When  I  came  up,  he  looked  at  the  honey,  and 
said: 

"Is  that  for  you?" 

"  No,  it's  to  make  a  drink  for  the  French  lady." 
"  I'd  like  to  be  sick  in  her  place,"  said  he,  licking 
his  thick  lips,  expressively.    Then  he  added :  "  What 
are  you  going  to  do  this  afternoon  ? " 

"  I  don't  know — I  shall  go  to  walk  with  Scipio." 

He  looked  at  the  dog,  and  stroking  his  back,  said: 

"Listen:    if  you'd  like,  we'll  go  to  lay  traps 

behind  the  dunghills  of  the  Postthal;    there  are 

a.  good  many  greenfinches  and  sparrows  along  the 

hedges,  under  the  sheds,  and  in  the  trees  of  the 

Postthal." 

160 


MADAME   THERESE  161 

"  I'd  like  it  very  much,"  said  I. 

"Yes,  meet  me  here  on  the  steps.  We'll  go 
together." 

Before  we  parted,  Hans  asked  me  to  let  him  put 
his  finger  on  the  bottom  of  the  plate.  I  assented, 
and  he  found  the  honey  very  good.  After  which, 
each  of  us  took  his  own  way,  and  I  reached  home 
about  half-past  eleven. 

"  Ah,  here  you  are!  "  cried  Lisbeth,  as  I  entered 
the  kitchen;  "I  thought  you  were  never  coming 
back.  Heavens!  must  you  take  so  much  time  to 
do  an  errand? " 

I  told  her  about  my  meeting  the  mole-catcher  on 
the  steps  of  the  Little  Golden  Pitcher,  the  dispute 
of  Koffel,  old  Schmitt  and  the  mole-catcher  with  M. 
Richter,  the  great  battle  between  Max  and  Scipio, 
and  finally  the  manner  in  which  the  mole-catcher 
had  told  me  to  say  that  he  wanted  no  money  for 
his  honey,  and  that  he  offered  it  with  all  his  heart 
to  the  French  lady,  who  was  a  "  respectable  "  per- 
son. As  the  door  was  open,  Madame  Therese  heard 
me,  and  told  me  to  come  in.  I  saw  that  she  was 
touched,  and  when  I  gave  her  the  honey  she  ac- 
cepted it. 

"  Well,  Fritzel,  well,"  said  she  with  tears  in  her 
eyes,  "  I  am  pleaaed,  much  pleased  with  this  present. 


ii 


162  MADAME  THERESE 

The  respect  of  honest  men  always  gives  us  much 
pleasure.  I  will  thank  the  mole-catcher  myself, 
when  he  comes." 

Then  she  leaned  forward,  and  put  her  hand  on 
the  head  of  Scipio,  who  was  standing  beside  the 
bed,  looking  up  at  her.  She  smiled,  and  said: 

"  Scipio,  you  also  sustain  the  good  cause,  then? " 

The  dog,  seeing  joy  sparkle  in  her  eyes,  began 
to  bark  loudly.  He  fell  back  on  his  hind  legs,  as  if 
to  go  through  the  drill. 

"  Yes,  yes,  I'm  better  now,"  said  she,  "  I  feel 
much  stronger.  Ah !  we  have  suffered  so  much !  " 

Then,  sighing,  she  leaned  back  on  the  pillow, 
and  said: 

"  Good  news — only  good  news,  and  all  will  be 
well! " 

Lisbeth  had  finished  setting  the  table.  She  said 
nothing,  and  Madame  Therese  fell  into  a  revery. 
The  clock  struck  twelve,  and  a  few  minutes  after 
the  old  servant  brought  in  the  little  tureen  of  soup 
for  herself  and  me.  She  made  the  sign  of  the  cross, 
and  we  ate  our  dinner. 

Every  moment  I  turned  my  head  to  see  if  Hans 
Aden  was  already  on  the  church  steps.  Madame 
Therese  had  lain  down  again,  turning  her  back  to 
us,  and  drawing  the  blanket  over  her.  Doubtless 


MADAME  THERESE  163 

she  had  still  much  uneasiness.  I  thought  only  of  the 
dunghills  of  the  Postthal.  Already  I  could  see  our 
brick  traps,  placed  around  in  the  snow,  the  lids 
raised,  supported  by  two  little  wooden  sticks,  and 
grains  of  wheat  scattered  on  the  edge  and  in  the 
bottom.  I  saw  the  greenfinches  flying  from  tree  to 
tree,  and  the  sparrows  in  a  row  on  the  edges  of  the 
roofs,  calling,  watching,  listening,  while  we,  hidden 
in  the  shed  behind  heaps  of  hay,  waited,  our  hearts 
throbbing  with  impatience.  Then  a  sparrow  would 
light  on  the  dunghill,  his  tail  spread  out  like  a  fan — 
then  another,  then  all  the  flock.  There  they  are! 
There  they  are!  near  our  traps!  They're  coming 
down — three  of  them  are  hopping  about  and  peck- 
ing at  the  grains  of  wheat.  Fromi!  they  all  fly 
away  at  once.  It's  some  noise  on  the  farm — it's  the 
boy  Yen  with  his  great  wooden  shoes,  who's  just 
shouted  to  one  of  the  horses  in  the  stable,  "  Come, 
turn  round,  Foux!  "  What  a  misfortune!  If  the 
horses  were  only  dead,  and  Yeri  with  them !  Well, 
we  must  still  wait — the  sparrows  have  gone  far 
away.  Suddenly  one  of  them  begins  to  cry  again 
— they  are  coming  back  to  the  roof.  Ah !  if  Yeri 
will  only  not  shout  again — if  he'll  only  be  quiet — 
if  there  were  only  no  people  on  the  farm  nor  in 
the  road !  What  anxiety !  At  last  one  comes  down 


164  MADAME   THERESE 

again — Hans  pulls  my  jacket — we  hold  our  breath 
— we  are  dumb  with  hope  and  fear!  All  this  1 
saw  beforehand  that  I  could  not  keep  quiet. 

"  In  heaven's  name,  what's  the  matter  with 
you  ?  "  said  Lisbeth.  "  You're  fidgeting  like  a  soul 
in  torment — do  keep  still." 

I  did  not  hear  her,  with  my  nose  flattened  against 
the  window-pane:  I  was  thinking — 

"  Will  he  come  or  won't  he  come?  Perhaps  he's 
already  down  there — he  may  have  taken  somebody 
else  with  him!  " 

This  idea  seemed  terrible  to  me. 

I  was  going  to  run  out,  when  at  last  I  saw  Hans 
Aden  crossing  the  Square.  He  was  looking  toward 
our  house,  watching  for  me.  I  was  already  in  the 
alley,  and  opened  the  gate  without  calling  Scipio 
this  time.  Then  I  ran  close  to  the  wall,  for  fear 
of  some  errand  or  other  hindrance; — so  many  mis- 
fortunes do  happen  to  one  in  this  world!  It  was 
not  till  we  were  far  from  the  house,  in  Orties  Lane, 
that  Hans  and  I  stopped  to  take  breath. 

"  Have  you  some  wheat,  Hans?  " 

"  Yes." 

"And  your  knife?" 

"  Be  easy — here  it  is.  But,  Fritzel,  I  can't  carry 
everything — you  must  take  the  bricks,  and  I'll  take 
the  tiles." 


MADAME  THERESE  165 

"Ye§;  come  on." 

And  we  crossed  the  fields  back  of  the  village, 
through  snow  up  to  our  waists.  If  the  mole- 
catcher,  Koffel,  or  my  uncle,  himself,  had  called 
us  then,  we  would  have  run  on  like  thieves,  with- 
out turning  our  heads. 

We  soon  came  to  the  old  abandoned  kiln,  for  they 
rarely  bake  bricks  in  the  winter,  and  took  our  load 
of  bricks.  Then,  re-crossing  the  meadow,  we 
climbed  over  the  hedges  of  the  Postthal,  all  covered 
with  frost,  just  opposite  the  large  square  dunghills 
back  of  the  stables  and  out-house.  "We  could  see 
the  sparrows  far  above  us,  sitting  in  a  row  on  the 
edges  of  the  roofs. 

"  I  told  you  so,"  cried  Hans;  "  listen — listen!  " 

Then  we  placed  our  traps,  clearing  away  the  snow 
from  the  ground.  Hans  cut  little  sticks,  placed  the 
tiles  very  carefully,  and  then  scattered  wheat  all 
around.  The  sparrows  watched  us  from  the  roofs, 
lightly  turning  their  heads,  without  moving  a  wing. 
Hans  rose,  wiping  his  nose  on  the  back  of  his  sleeve, 
and  looking  up,  winking,  so  as  to  see  the  sparrows. 

"  Come,"  said  he  in  a  low  voice,  "  they're  going 
to  come  down." 

We  went  into  the  shed,  full  of  high  hopes, — and 
at  that  moment  all  the  flock  disappeared.  We 


166  MADAME   THERESE 

thought  they  would  come  back;  but  until  nearly 
four  o'clock  we  remained  squatted  down  behind 
the  heaps  of  hay,  without  hearing  the  cry  of  a  single 
sparrow.  They  understood  what  we  were  doing, 
and  had  flown  far  away  to  the  other  end  of  the  vil- 
lage. 

Imagine  our  despair!  Hans,  notwithstanding  his 
good  disposition,  was  terribly  angry,  and  I  indulged 
in  the  saddest  reflections,  thinking  there  was  noth- 
ing more  foolish  than  wanting  to  catch  sparrows 
in  the  winter,  when  they  were  nothing  but  skin  and 
bones, — and  it  would  take  four  of  them  to  make  a 
mouthful. 

At  last,  tired  of  waiting,  and  seeing  that  it  was 
getting  dark,  we  returned  to  the  village  through 
the  main  street,  shivering,  with  our  hands  in  our 
pockets,  moist  noses,  and  caps  drawn  over  our  ears, 
in  a  dismal  manner. 

It  was  night  when  I  got  home.  Lisbeth  was  pre- 
paring supper;  but  as  I  felt  rather  ashamed  to  tell 
her  how  the  sparrows  had  fooled  us,  I  opened  the 
door  of  the  sitting-room  softly,  and  sat  down  quietly 
behind  the  stove,  instead  of  running  into  the  kitchen 
as  usual. 

Nothing  stirred.  Scipio  was  sleeping  under  the 
arm-chair  curled  up  in  a  heap,  and  I  had  been  warm- 


MADAME  THERESE  167 

ing  myself  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  listening  to  the 
murmur  of  the  fire.  When  Madame  Therese,  whom 
I  thought  had  been  asleep,  said  in  a  gentle  voice: 

"  Is  that  you,  Fritzel?  " 

"  Yes,  Madame  Therese,"  answered  L 

"  Are  you  warming  yourself?  " 

"  Yes;  Madame  Therese." 

"  You  were  very  cold,  then? " 

"  Oh,  yes." 

"  What  have  you  been  doing  this  afternoon? " 

"  Hans  Aden  and  I've  been  setting  traps  for  the 
sparrows." 

"  Did  you  take  many  ? " 

"  No,  Madame  Therese,  not  many." 

"  How  many? " 

It  made  my  heart  bleed  to  tell  this  kind  woman 
that  we  had  not  taken  any. 

"  Two  or  three,  didn't  you,  Fritzel?  "  asked  she. 

"  No,  Madame  Therese." 

"  Didn't  you  take  any,  then?  " 

"  No." 

She  was  silent,  and  I  thought  she  must  feel  very 
sorry. 

"  They  are  very  smart  birds,"  she  said  in  a  mo- 
ment. 

"Oh,  yes." 


168  MADAME   THERESE 

"  Are  your  feet  wet,  Fritzel?  " 

"  No,  I  had  on  my  wooden  shoes." 

"  Well,  well,  so  much  the  better.  Be  comforted; 
another  time  you'll  be  more  fortunate." 

While  we  were  talking  Lisbeth  came  in,  leaving 
the  kitchen  door  open. 

"Ah,  here  you  are,"  said  she;  "I'd  like  to 
know  where  you  spend  your  days?  Always  out, 
always  with  your  Hans  Aden  or  your  Frantz  Sepel." 

"  He's  been  catching  sparrows,"  said  Madame 
Therese. 

"  Sparrows !  if  I  could  only  see  them  once,"  cried 
the  old  servant.  "  Every  winter  for  three  years,  he 
has  run  after  sparrows.  Once  he  caught  by  chance 
in  the  autumn  an  old  featherless  jay,  who  had  no 
strength  left  to  fly,  and  since  then  he  thinks  all  the 
birds  of  heaven  are  his." 

Lisbeth  laughed.  She  sat  down  to  the  spinning- 
wheel,  and  said,  as  she  dipped  her  finger  into  the 
mouilloir* 

"  Now  everything's  ready,  and  when  the  doctor 
€omes  I'll  only  have  to  lay  the  cloth: — What  was 
I  telling  you  about  a  little  while  ago  ?  " 

"  You  were  speaking  of  your  conscripts,  M'lle 
Xisbeth." 

*  Vessel  of  water,  in  which  women  wet  their  fingers  when 
spinning  flax 


MADAME   THERESE  169 

"  Ah,  yes — when  this  wicked  war  began  all  the 
young  men  of  the  village  went  away — big  Lud- 
wig, the  blacksmith's  son,  little  Christel,  Hans 
Goemer,  and  many  others — they  went,  some  on  foot, 
some  on  horseback,  singing,  'Fatherland!  Father- 
land ! '  with  their  comrades  who  took  them  to 
Kirschtal,  to  Father  Fritz's  inn,  on  the  road  to 
Kaiserslautern.  They  sang,  indeed,  but  that  did  not 
prevent  them  from  crying  bitterly  when  they  saw 
the  steeple  of  Anstatt  for  the  last  time.  Little 
Christel  embraced  Ludwig  at  every  step,  saying, 
'  When  shall  we  see  Anstatt  again? '  Ludwig  an- 
swered: '  Ah,  alas!  we  mustn't  think  of  that;  the 
good  God  will  protect  us  from  these  Republicans, 
heaven  confound  them ! '  They  wept  together,  and 
the  old  sergeant,  who  had  come  expressly  for  them, 
kept  saying,  '  Forward!  Courage!  We  are  men!  ' 
His  nose  was  red  from  drinking  with  our  conscripts. 
Tall  Hans  Gosrner,  who  was  going  to  marry  Rosa 
Mutz — the  garde  champetre's  daughter — cried, 
'  One  drink  more !  one  drink  more !  This  is  perhaps 
the  last  plate  of  sour-krout  that  we  shall  ever  see ! ' 

"  Poor  boy !  "  said  Madame  Therese. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Lisbeth,  "  and  yet  that  would 
be  nothing  if  the  girls  could  be  married.  But  when 
the  boys  go  away,  the  girls  are  left  here,  to  dream 


1 70  MADAME   THERESE 

from  morning  till  night,  to  wear  themselves  out  and 
die  off.  They  can't  marry  the  old  men, — sixty  year° 
old, — widowers,  or  else  hump-backed,  lame,  or  one- 
eyed.  Ah!  Madame  Therese,  I  don't  reproach  you; 
but  without  your  Revolution  we  would  have  been 
very  happy,  we  would  only  think  of  praising  Goc1 
for  his  goodness.  Such  a  Republic,  which  throws 
everything  into  disorder,  is  terrible!  " 

As  I  listened  to  this  speech  I  noticed  that  a  pleas- 
ant odor  of  stuffed  veal  was  filling  the  room,  and 
Scipio  and  I  at  last  got  up  to  take  a  look  in  the 
kitchen.  We  found  a  good  onion  soup,  a  breast  of 
veal,  stuffed,  and  fried  potatoes.  Running  about 
had  made  me  so  hungry  that  it  seemed  as  if  I  could 
swallow  the  whole  at  a  mouthful. 

Scipio  was  no  less  favorably  inclined;  with  his 
foot  on  the  edge  of  the  hearth  he  snuffed  among 
the  pots,  for  a  dog's  nose,  as  M.  de  Buffon  says,  is 
a  very  delicate  second  sight.  After  taking  a  good 
look,  I  prayed  for  my  uncle's  return. 

"  Ah,  Lisbeth,"  cried  I,  re-entering  the  sitting- 
room,  "  if  you  knew  how  hungry  I  am !  " 

"  So  much  the  better,"  replied  the  old  woman, 
who  was  still  talking,  "  an  appetite's  a  good  thing." 

Then  she  continued  her  village  tattle,  to  which 
Madame  Therese  seemed  to  listen  with  pleasure.  I 


MADAME  THERESE  171 

went  backwards  and  forwards,  from  the  sitting-room 
to  the  kitchen,  and  Scipio  followed  me;  doubtless 
he  felt  the  same  as  I  did.  Outside,  the  night  was 
growing  dark.  Occasionally  Madame  Therese  would 
interrupt  the  old  servant,  raising  her  finger,  and  say- 
ing: 

"Listen!" 

Then  we  would  all  be  quiet  a  moment. 

"It's  nothing,"  said  Lisbeth;  "Hans  Bockel's 
cart  is  passing,"  or  else,  "  it's  mother  Dreyfus,  who 
is  going  to  watch  at  the  Bremers'." 

She  knew  the  habits  of  everybody  in  Anstatt,  and 
it  gave  her  real  happiness  to  talk  to  the  French  lady 
about  them,  now  that  she  had  seen  the  image  of  the 
Holy  Virgin  hanging  from  her  neck; — for  the  sud- 
den friendship  sprang  from  that,  as  I  learned  after- 
ward. 

Seven  o'clock  struck, — then  the  half  hour.  At 
last,  not  knowing  how  to  pass  the  time,  while  wait- 
ing, I  climbed  on  a  chair,  and  took  from  a  shelf 
.Buffon's  Natural  History, — a  thing  which  I  had 
never  done  before.  Then,  with  my  elbows  on  the 
table,  in  a  kind  of  despair,  I  began  to  read  French 
alone.  Only  a  ravenous  appetite  could  have  given 
me  such  an  idea;  but  every  moment  I  raised  my 
head  and  listened,  looking  toward  the  window  with 


172  MADAME  THERESE 

eyes  wide  open.  I  had  just  finished  the  account  of 
the  sparrow,  which  possesses  twice  as  much  brain  as 
man  in  proportion  to  its  size,  when  a  sound  was 
heard  afar  off,  the  sound  of  little  bells.  It  was  still 
a  hardly  perceptible  tinkling,  lost  in  the  distance, 
but  it  approached  rapidly,  and  soon  Madame  The- 
rese  said: 

"  It  is  the  doctor." 

"  Yes,"  said  Lisbeth,  rising  and  putting  her  wheel 
in  the  corner  by  the  clock;  "  this  time  it's  he." 

She  ran  into  the  kitchen.  I  was  already  in  the 
passage,  leaving  Buffon  on  the  table,  and  I  opened 
the  outer  door,  crying, 

"Is  it  you,  uncle?" 

"  Yes,  Fritzel,"  replied  my  uncle's  cheerful  voice. 
"I  have  come.  Is  all  well  at  home?  " 

"  Very  well,  uncle,  everybody's  well." 

"Good,  good!" 

Then  Lisbeth  went  out  with  the  lantern,  and 
I  saw  Uncle  Jacob  in  the  shed  unharnessing  the 
horse.  He  was  white,  in  the  midst  of  the  dark- 
ness, and  every  hair  of  his  coat  and  fur  cap  shone 
like  a  star  in  the  light  of  the  lantern.  He  was  in 
a  hurry;  Rappel,  turning  his  head  toward  the  stable, 
seemed  as  if  he  could  not  wait. 

"  Good  Lord,  how  cold  it  is  out  here !  "  said  the 


MADAME  THERESE  173 

old  servant,  running  to  help  him.  "  You'll  be 
frozen,  doctor.  Go  in,  quick,  and  warm  yourself. 
I'll  finish  this  by  myself." 

But  Uncle  Jacob  was  not  accustomed  to  leave 
the  care  of  his  horse  to  others;  and  it  was  not  till 
he  saw  Rappel  before  the  rack  filled  with  hay,  with 
his  feet  in  the  good  straw,  that  he  said: 

"  Now  we'll  go  in." 

And  we  went  in  together. 

"  Good  news,  Madame  Therese !  "  cried  he  in 
the  doorway.  "  Good  news!  I've  come  from 
Kaiserslautern ;  it  is  all  right  down  there." 

Madame  Therese,  seated  on  her  bed,  looked  at 
him  very  pale.  And  as  he  shook  his  cap,  and  took 
off  his  overcoat,  she  said: 

"  How,  doctor,  do  you  come  from  Kaiserslau- 
tern?" 

"  Yes,  I  went  as  far  as  that — I  wanted  to  know 
all  the  particulars.  I've  seen  everything — I've  in- 
formed myself  of  everything,"  said  he,  smiling, 
"  but  I  won't  conceal  from  you,  Madame  Therese, 
that  I'm  dying  of  hunger  and  fatigue." 

He  was  seated  in  the  arm-chair,  drawing  off  his 
heavy  boots,  and  watching  Lisbeth  lay  the  cloth 
with  eyes  as  sharp  as  Scipio's  and  mine. 

"  All  I  can  tell  you,"  said  he,  rising,  "  is  that 


174  MADAME   THERESE 

the  battle  of  Kaiserslautern  is  not  so  decisive  as  they 
thought,  and  your  regiment  was  not  engaged.  Little 
Jean  has  run  no  new  dangers." 

"  That  is  enough,"  said  Madame  Therese,  lying 
back  with  an  air  of  happiness  and  unspeakable  emo- 
tion, "  that  is  enough.  You  need  tell  me  no  more, 
lest  I  should  be  too  happy.  Warm  yourself,  doctor; 
eat — don't  hurry.  I  can  wait  now." 

Lisbeth  brought  in  soup,  and  my  uncle,  sitting 
down,  said  again: 

"  Yes,  that  is  positive.  You  can  be  easy  on  these 
two  points.  I'll  tell  you  the  rest  presently." 

Then  we  began  to  eat,  and  my  uncle,  looking  at 
me  now  and  then,  smiled,  as  if  to  say: 

"  I  believe  you  want  to  keep  up  with  me.  What 
in  the  devil  has  given  you  such  an  appetite  ? " 

Our  great  hunger  was  soon  appeased.  We  re- 
membered poor  Scipio,  who  was  watching  us  stoi- 
cally, and  now  it  was  his  turn  to  eat.  My  uncle  took 
another  good  drink,  then  lighted  his  pipe,  and  ap- 
proaching the  alcove  took  Madame  Therese's  hand, 
as  if  to  feel  her  pulse,  and  said: 

"Here  I  am!" 

She  smiled,  and  said  nothing. 

Then  he  drew  up  the  arm-chair,  opened  the  cur- 
tains, placed  the  candle  on  the  night-table,  and  be- 


MADAME  THERESE  175 

gan  the  history  of  the  battle.  I  listened,  leaning 
on  the  back  of  his  chair.  Lisbeth  remained  standing 
in  the  sitting-room,  in  the  dark. 

"  The  Republicans  arrived  before  Kaiserslautern 
on  the  evening  of  the  27th,"  said  he;  "  the  Prus- 
sians had  been  there  for  three  days.  They  had 
fortified  the  position,  by  placing  cannon  on  the 
heights  that  command  the  plateau.  General  Hoche 
followed  them  from  the  line  of  the  Erbach;  he 
had  even  wished  to  surround  them  at  Bisingen, 
and  he  immediately  resolved  to  attack  them  the 
next  day.  The  Prussians  had  forty  thousand  men 
and  the  French  thirty  thousand.  The  next  day 
the  attack  began  on  the  left;  the  Republicans,  un- 
der General  Ambert,  began  to  scale  the  heights, 
at  a  charge,  crying,  '  Landau  or  death ! '  At  this 
moment,  Hoche  ought  to  have  attacked  the  centre. 
But  it  was  covered  by  woods  and  heights.  It  was 
impossible  for  him  to  arrive  in  time.  General  Am- 
bert was  obliged  to  retreat  before  the  Prussian  fire ; 
he  had  all  Brunswick's  army  against  him.  The  day 
following,  November  29th,  Hoche  attacked  the 
centre;  General  Ambert  was  to  turn  the  right  wing, 
but  he  lost  his  way  in  the  mountains,  so  that  Hoche 
was  overpowered  in  his  turn.  In  spite  of  this  the 
attack  was  to  recommence  the  next  day,  November 


176  MADAME  THERESE 

30th.  That  day  Brunswick  made  a  movement  in 
advance,  and  the  Republicans,  fearing  their  com- 
munications would  be  cut  off,  retreated.  This  is 
what  I  know  positively,  and  from  the  mouth  of  a 
Republican  colonel,  wounded  in  the  hip,  the  second 
day  of  the  battle.  Doctor  Feuerbach,  one  of  my 
old  university  friends,  took  me  to  this  man.  Other- 
wise, I  should  have  learned  nothing  reliable,  for 
one  can  get  nothing  but  boasts  out  of  the  Prussians. 
Everybody  in  the  city  is  talking  of  these  events,  but 
each  in  his  own  manner.  Great  excitement  pre- 
vails down  there.  Convoys  of  the  wounded  are  con- 
stantly leaving  for  Mayence;  the  City  Hospital  is 
filled  with  patients,  and  the  citizens  are  forced  to 
receive  the  wounded  into  their  houses  until  they  can 
be  removed." 

The  attention  with  which  Madame  Therese  lis- 
tened to  this  recital  may  be  imagined. 

"  I  see — I  see,"  said  she,  sadly,  her  head  leaning 
on  her  hand.  "  Our  troops  were  not  concentrated 
enough." 

"  Truly  they  were  not;  that  is  what  everybody 
at  Kaiserslautern  says;  but  that  doesn't  prevent  one 
from  recognizing  the  courage  and  even  the  extra- 
ordinary boldness  of  your  Republicans.  When  they 
cried,  *  Landau  or  death! '  in  the  midat  of  the  firing 


MADAME   THERESE  177 

of  guns,  and  the  roaring  of  cannon,  all  the  city  heard 
them;  it  was  enough  to  make  one  shudder.  Now 
they  are  in  retreat,  but  Brunswick  has  not  dared  to 
pursue  them." 

There  was  a  moment's  silence,  then  Madame  The- 
rese  asked : 

"  And  how  do  you  know  that  our  regiment  was 
not  engaged,  doctor? " 

"  From  the  Republican  colonel ;  he  told  me  that 
the  first  battalion  of  the  second  brigade  had  met 
with  great  losses  in  a  village  in  the  mountain,  some 
days  before,  while  reconnoitring  near  Landau,  and 
that  for  that  reason  they  were  held  in  reserve.  Then 
I  saw  that  he  understood  affairs  exactly." 

"  What  is  this  colonel's  name  ?  " 

"  Pierre  Ronsart ;  he's  a  tall  dark  man,  with  black 
hair." 

"  I  know  him  well — I  know  him  well — h* 
was  captain  in  our  battalion  last  year;  what! 
is  that  poor  Ronsart  a  prisoner?  Is  his  wound 
dangerous? " 

"  No;  Feuerbach  told  me  he  would  recover,  but 
it  will  take  some  time,"  answered  my  uncle.  Then 
smiling  archly,  his  eyes  half  closed — "  Yes,  yes — 
that's  what  the  colonel  told  me.  But  he  told  me 
many  other  things — interesting  things — extraor- 

12 


178  MADAME  THERESE 

dinary  things,  and  which  I  should  never  have  sus- 
pected." 

"  What  were  they,  doctor?  " 

"  Something  that  astonished  me  very  much,"  said 
Uncle  Jacob,  pressing  the  tobacco  into  his  pipe  with 
the  end  of  his  finger,  and  drawing  a  great  puff, 
looking  up  at  the  ceiling — "  very  much  astonished 
me,  and  yet  not  so  much — no,  not  so  much  either, 
for  such  ideas  had  sometimes  come  into  my  head." 

"  But  what  is  it,  Monsieur  Jacob \  "  said  Madame 
Therese,  in  surprise. 

"  He  spoke  of  a  certain  Citoyenne  Therese,  a  sort 
of  Cornelia,  known  in  all  the  army  of  the  Moselle, 
and  whom  the  soldiers  call  '  The  Citoyenne!' 
Ha!  ha!  ha!  It  seems  that  the  citoyennc  doesn't 
lack  a  certain  courage !  "  And  turning  to  Lisbeth 
and  me,  "  Imagine  that  one  day  when  the  leader 
of  their  battalion  had  just  been  killed  in  trying 
to  urge  on  his  men,  and  when  a  bridge  must  be 
crossed  which  was  defended  by  a  battery  and  two 
Prussian  regiments,  and  all  the  oldest  Republicans, 
the  most  terrible  among  those  courageous  men,  re- 
coiled— imagine  this  Citoyenne  Therese  taking  the 
flag,  and  marching  all  alone  across  the  bridge,  tell- 
ing her  little  brother  Jean  to  beat  the  charge  before 
her,  as  before  an  army;  which  produced  such  an 


MADAME   THERESE  179 

effect  upon  the  Republicans,  that  they  all  rushed 
forward  at  once,  and  took  the  cannons.  Do  you 
understand,  all  of  you?  It  was  Colonel  Ronsart 
who  told  me  this." 

And  as  we  looked  at  Madame  Therese,  quite 
stupefied — I,  especially,  my  eyes  wide  open, — we 
saw  that  she  was  turning  very  red. 

"  Ah,"  said  my  uncle,  "  we  learn  something  new 
every  day;  that  was  grand! — that  was  fine!  Yes, 
yes,  although  I  am  a  lover  of  peace,  that  moved 
me  very  much." 

"  But,  doctor,"  replied  Madame  Therese,  at  last, 
"  how  could  you  believe  " 

"  Oh,"  interrupted  Uncle  Jacob,  extending  his 
hand,  "  it  wasn't  the  colonel  alone  who  told  me  that; 
two  other  wounded  captains  who  were  there,  hear- 
ing that  Citayentie  Therese  was  still  living,  were 
greatly  rejoiced.  The  story  about  her  and  the  flag 
is  known  to  the  lowest  soldier.  Say — yes  or  no — 
did  she  do  that  ? "  said  my  uncle,  frowning,  and 
looking  in  Madame  Therese's  face. 

Then  she,  drooping  her  head,  began  to  weep,  and 
said: 

"  The  commander  who  had  just  been  killed,  was 
our  father — we  wanted  to  die,  little  Jean  and  I — 
we  were  desperate." 


i8o  MADAME  THERESE 

As  she  thought  of  that,  she  sobbed.  My  uncle 
became  very  grave,  and  said: 

"  Listen,  Madame  Therese :  I  am  proud  of  hav- 
ing saved  the  life  of  such  a  woman  as  you.  Whether 
it  was  because  your  father  had  died,  or  for  some 
other  reason,  that  you  acted  thus,  it  was  truly  grand, 
noble  and  courageous.  It  was  even  extraordinary, 
for  thousands  of  other  women  would  only  have 
groaned.  They  would  have  become  powerless,  and 
done  nothing  but  utter  reproaches.  But  you  are 
a  courageous  woman,  and  long  after  you  have  per- 
formed great  actions,  you  weep  when  others  are 
beginning  to  forget.  You  are  not  only  the  woman 
who  lifted  up  the  banner  from  among  the  dead,  but 
you  are  also  the  woman  who  weeps,  and  this  is  why 
I  esteem  you.  And  I  say  that  the  roof  of  this  house 
in  which  my  father  and  grandfather  once  lived,  is 
honored  by  your  presence,  yes,  honored !  " 

My  uncle  spoke  gravely,  dwelling  on  the  words 
and  placing  his  pipe  on  the  table,  for  he  was  greatly 
moved.  And  Madame  Therese  answered :  "  Doc- 
tor, don't  speak  so,  or  I  shall  be  obliged  to  go  away. 
I  entreat  you  not  to  speak  of  that  again." 

"  I  have  told  you  what  I  think,"  replied  Uncle 
Jacob,  rising,  "  and  now  I  will  say  no  more 
about  it,  since  that  is  your  wish,  but  that  doesn't 


MADAME  THERESE  181 

prevent  me  from  honoring,  in  you,  a  gentle  and 
noble  creature,  and  being  proud  of  having  taken 
care  of  you.  And  the  colonel  told  me  also  who 
your  father  and  brothers  were ;  simple,  artless  men, 
who  went  together  to  defend  what  they  believed 
to  be  justice.  When  so  many  thousands  of  proud 
men  think  only  of  their  own  interests,  and,  I  say  it 
with  regret,  when  they  consider  themselves  nobles, 
while  thinking  only  of  material  things,  one  likes 
to  see  that  true  nobility,  that  which  comes  from 
disinterestedness  and  heroism,  is  found  among  the 
people.  Let  them  be  Republicans  or  not,  what  mat- 
ters it  ?  I  think  in  my  soul  and  conscience,  that  the 
true  nobles,  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  are  those  who 
do  their  duty." 

My  uncle  in  his  excitement  was  walking  up  and 
down  the  room,  talking  to  himself.  Madame  The- 
rese,  having  dried  her  tears,  looked  at  him  smilingly, 
and  said: 

"  Doctor,  you  have  brought  us  good  news, — 
thanks — thanks!  Now  I'm  going  to  get  better." 

"  Yes,"  replied  Uncle  Jacob,  stopping,  "  you  are 
going  to  get  better  and  better.  But  it  is  time  to 
rest.  "We  have  had  much  fatigue,  and  I  think  we'll 
all  sleep  well  to-night.  Come  Fritzel,  come  Lisbeth, 
let  us  gol  Good-night,  Madame  Therese." 


182  MADAME  THERESE 

"  Good-night,  doctor." 

He  took  the  candle,  and,  with  head  bent  down 
thoughtfully,  followed  us  upstairs. 


JQ1 

THE  next  day  was  a  day  of  happiness  for  Uncle 
Jacob's  house.  It  was  very  late  when  I  awoke  from 
my  deep  sleep ;  I  had  slept  twelve  hours  as  if  it  were 
but  a  second,  and  the  first  things  I  saw  were  my  little 
round  window-panes,  covered  with  those  silver  flow- 
ers, those  transparent  nets,  and  thousand  ornaments 
of  frost-work,  such  as  no  designer's  hand  could  trace. 
It  is  nevertheless  but  a  simple  thought  of  God's, 
which  reminds  us  of  spring  in  the  midst  of  winter; 
but  it  is  also  the  sign  of  great  cold, — of  the  dry, 
sharp  cold  which  succeeds  snow.  Then  all  the  riv- 
ers, and  even  the  springs  are  frozen.  The  roads  are 
hard,  and  the  pools  covered  with  that  white  and 
brittle  ice  which  cracks  under  the  feet  like  egg- 
shells. Seeing  this  with  my  nose  hardly  out  of 
the  coverlet,  and  my  cotton  cap  drawn  far  down  over 
my  ears,  I  recalled  all  the  past  winters,  and  said  to 
myself: 

"  Fritzel,  you  won't  dare  to  get  up ;  not  even  to 
go  to  breakfast;  you  won't  dare!  " 
183 


184  MADAME  THERESE 

But  a  good  odor  of  cream  porridge  came  up  from 
the  kitchen,  and  inspired  me  with  a  terrible  courage. 
I  had  been  lying  there,  thinking,  for  half  an  hour, 
and  had  just  resolved  beforehand  that  I  would 
spring  out  of  bed,  take  my  clothes  under  my  arm, 
and  run  down  to  the  kitchen,  to  dress  near  the  fire, 
when  I  heard  Uncle  Jacob  getting  up,  in  his  room, 
next  to  mine,  which  led  me  to  think  that  the  great 
fatigue  of  the  night  before  had  made  him  as  late  a 
sleeper  as  I.  A  few  minutes  af terward  he  came  into 
my  room,  laughing  and  shivering,  in  his  shirt- 
sleeves. 

"  Come,  come,  Fritzel,"  cried  he,  "  get  up,  get 
up !  courage !  Don't  you  smell  the  porridge  ?  " 

He  always  did  so  in  the  winter  when  it  was  very 
cold,  and  amused  himself  with  seeing  me  in  a  state 
of  great  uncertainty. 

"  If  they  could  bring  the  soup  here,"  said  I,  "  I'd 
smell  it  much  better." 

"  Oh,  the  coward,  the  coward !  He  would  have 
the  heart  to  eat  in  bed !  What  laziness !  " 

Then,  to  set  me  a  good  example,  he  poured  the 
cold  water  from  my  pitcher  into  the  large  basin, 
and  washed  his  face  with  both  hands,  saying: 

"This  does  one  good,  Fritzel;  it  freshens  you 
up,  and  gives  you  ideas.  Come,  get  up! — Come!  " 


MADAME  THERESE  185 

But  I,  seeing  that  be  wanted  to  wash  me,  sprang 
from  the  bed,  and  with  a  single  bound  seized  my 
clothes,  and  rushed  downstairs  four  steps  at  a  time. 
My  uncle's  shouts  of  laughter  filled  the  house. 

"  Ah!  you'd  make  a  famous  Republican,  you!  " 
cried  he.  "  Little  Jean  would  have  to  beat  the 
charge  briskly  to  give  you  courage!  " 

But  once  in  the  kitchen,  I  could  laugh  at  his 
raillery.  I  was  dressing  near  a  good  fire,  and  was 
bathing  with  tepid  water  which  Lisbeth  poured  out 
for  me.  That  seemed  to  me  much  better  than  hav- 
ing great  courage,  and  I  was  beginning  to  contem- 
plate the  soup-tureen  with  an  affectionate  eye,  when 
Uncle  Jacob  came  down.  He  pinched  my  ear,  and 
said  to  Lisbeth : 

"  Well,  well !  how's  Madame  Therese  this  morn- 
ing? she  has  had  a  good  night,  I  hope?  " 

"Go  in,  doctor,"  replied  the  old  servant,  in  a 
good-natured  tone ;  "  go  in,  sir,  somebody  wants  to 
speak  to  you." 

My  uncle  entered,  and  I  followed,  and  we  were 
at  first  very  much  surprised  to  see  no  one  in  the 
sitting-room,  and  the  curtains  of  the  alcove  drawn. 
But  our  astonishment  was  very  much  greater,  when, 
turning  round,  we  saw  Madame  Therese  in  her  can- 
tiniere's  dress — the  little  jacket  with  brass  buttons 


l86  MADAME  THERESE 

closed  to  the  throat,  and  the  large  red  scarf  around 
her  neck, — seated  behind  the  stove.  She  looked  as 
we  had  first  seen  her,  only  a  little  paler.  Her  hat 
was  on  the  table,  and  her  beautiful  black  hair,  parted 
in  the  middle,  fell  over  her  shoulders,  making  her 
look  like  a  young  man.  She  was  smiling  at  our  as- 
tonishment, and  kept  her  hand  on  the  head  of  Scipio, 
who  was  sitting  near  her. 

"  Good  Lord !  "  cried  my  uncle.  "  How,  is  it 
you,  Madame  Therese !  You've  got  up !  " 

Then  he  added,  anxiously, 

"  What  imprudence !  " 

But  she,  continuing  to  smile,  held  her  hand  out 
to  him  gratefully,  and  looking  at  him  expressively 
with  her  large  black  eyes,  answered — 

"  Fear  nothing,  doctor;  I'm  well,  very  well. 
Your  good  news  of  yesterday  restored  me  to  health. 
See,  for  yourself!  " 

He  took  her  hand  in  silence,  and  felt  her  pulse 
thoughtfully.  Then  his  brow  cleared,  and  he  cried, 
in  a  joyous  tone: 

"  No  more  fever!  Ah  now — now,  all  goes  well! 
But  still  you  must  be  prudent — be  prudent  still." 

And  drawing  back  he  laughed  like  a  child,  look- 
ing at  his  patient,  who  smiled,  also. 

"I  see  you  again  as  I  saw  you  first,  Madame 


MADAME   THERESE  187 

Therese,"  he  said  slowly.  "  Ah!  we've  been  very 
fortunate,  very  fortunate !  " 

"  You've  saved  my  life,  Monsieur  Jacob,"  said 
she,  her  eyes  filled  with  tears. 

But  he  shook  his  head  and  raised  his  hand — 

"  No,  no,  it  is  He  who  preserves  everything  and 
who  animates  everything — it  is  He  alone  who  has 
saved  you ;  for  He  does  not  want  all  the  noble  and 
beautiful  natures  to  perish;  He  wants  some  to  re- 
main as  an  example  for  others.  Let  us  thank  Him !  " 

Then,  with  voice  and  countenance  changing,  he 
added: 

"  Let  us  rejoice!  Let  us  rejoice!  This  is  what 
I  call  a  happy  day!  " 

He  ran  into  the  kitchen,  and  as  he  did  not  return 
immediately,  Madame  Therese  beckoned  me  to  her. 
She  took  my  head  between  her  hands  and  kissed 
me,  putting  aside  my  hair. 

"  You're  a  good  child,  Fritzel,"  said  she. 
"You're  like  little  Jean!" 

I  was  very  proud  to  resemble  little  Jean. 

Then  my  uncle  returned,  his  eyes  twinkling,  with 
an  expression  of  inward  satisfaction. 

"  To-day,"  said  he,  "  I  shan't  stir  from  the  house. 
It  is  necessary  that  a  man  should  rest,  occasionally. 
I'm  oniy  going  to  make  a  little  tour  of  the  village, 


188  MADAME  THERESE 

that  I  may  have  a  clear  conscience,  and  then  I  shall 
return  and  pass  the  whole  day  with  my  family,  as 
I  used  to  do  in  the  good  time  when  grandmother 
Lehnel  was  living.  It  has  well  been  said  that  it  is 
women  who  make  the  home." 

He  put  on  his  large  cap,  and  threw  his  coat  over 
his  shoulder,  and  went  out,  smiling. 

Madame  Therese  had  become  very  thoughtful. 
She  rose,  drew  her  chair  to  a  window,  and  looked 
out  upon  the  square  with  the  fountain,  gravely.  I 
went  into  the  kitchen  to  breakfast  with  Scipio.  In 
about  half  an  hour  I  heard  my  uncle  come  in,  say- 
ing, 

"  Well !  here  I  am,  free  until  evening,  Madame 
Therese.  I've  made  my  tour:  everything's  in  or- 
der, and  I'm  not  obliged  to  go  out  again." 

Scipio  was  scratching  at  the  door;  I  opened  it, 
and  we  went  into  the  sitting-room  together.  My 
uncle  had  just  hung  his  coat  on  the  wall,  and  was 
looking  at  Madame  Therese,  who  was  still  in  the 
same  place,  seeming  very  melancholy. 

"  What  are  you  thinking  of,  Madame  Therese?  " 
asked  he ;  "  you  appear  to  be  sadder  than  you  were 
a  little  while  ago." 

"  I'm  thinking,  doctor,  that  in  spite  of  the  great- 
est Bufferings,  it  is  pleasant  to  remain  some  time 


MADAME   THERESE  189 

longer  in  this  world,"  said  she,  in  an  agitated 
voice. 

"  Some  time  ?  "  cried  Uncle  Jacob.  "  Say,  rather, 
for  many  years;  for,  thanks  to  God,  you  have  a 
good  constitution,  and  in  a  few  days  you  will  be 
as  strong  as  ever." 

"  Yes,  Monsieur  Jacob,  yes;  I  believe  it.  But 
when  a  good  man,  a  kind-hearted  man,  has  raised 
you  from  among  the  dead,  at  the  last  moment,  it 
is  a  very  great  happiness  to  feel  one's  self  recovered ; 
to  say  to  one's  self,  '  But  for  him,  I  should  not  now 
be  living.' ' 

My  uncle  then  understood  that  she  was  con- 
templating the  scene  of  the  terrible  battle  between 
her  battalion,  and  the  Austrian  division;  that  the 
old  fountain,  the  tottering  walls,  the  gables,  the  at- 
tic windows — in  short,  all  the  small  dark  square — 
recalled  the  incidents  of  the  struggle,  and  that  she 
knew  the  fate  which  awaited  her,  if  he  had  not 
fortunately  arrived  when  Joseph  Spick  was  going 
to  throw  her  into  the  cart.  For  a  moment  he  was 
overwhelmed  by  this  discovery.  Then  he  asked: 

"  Who  told  you  these  things,  Madame  Therese?  " 

"  Yesterday,  when  you  were  away,  Lisbeth  told 
me  how  much  gratitude  I  owe  you." 

"  Lisbeth  told  you  that!  "  cried  he,  in  despair; 
"  yet  I  had  forbidden  her." 


i9o  MADAME  THERESE 

"  Don't  reproach  her,  doctor,"  said  she,  "  I  en- 
couraged her  a  little.  She  likes  to  talk  so  much!  " 

She  smiled  at  my  uncle,  who  calmed  down  imme- 
diately, and  said: 

"  Well,  well,  I  ought  to  have  foreseen  that — let 
us  say  no  more  about  it.  But  listen  to  me, 
Madame  Therese:  you  must  drive  such  thoughts 
from  your  mind.  You  must  try  to  look  at  things 
cheerfully;  it's  necessary  to  the  re-establishment 
of  your  health.  All  will  be  well  now,  but  we  must 
try  to  assist  nature  by  pleasant  thoughts,  according 
to  the  precepts  of  the  father  of  medicine,  the  wise 
Hippocrates — '  A  strong  soul,'  said  he,  '  saves  a 
weak  body ! '  The  strength  of  the  soul  comes  from 
pleasant,  not  sad  thoughts.  I  wish  this  fountain 
was  at  the  other  end  of  the  village,  but  since  it's 
here,  and  we  can't  take  it  away,  let  us  sit  by  the 
stove,  so  as  not  to  see  it  any  more — that  will  be 
much  better." 

"  I  will  gladly,"  said  Madame  Therese,  rising. 
She  leaned  on  Uncle  Jacob's  arm;  he  seemed  very 
happy  to  support  her.  I  rolled  the  arm-chair  into 
its  corner,  and  we  took  our  places  around  the  fire, 
whose  crackling  gladdened  us.  At  times,  in  the 
distance,  we  heard  a  dog  bark,  and  this  piercing 
sound,  which  extends  so  far  through  the  silent  coun- 


MADAME  THERESE  191 

try  in  very  cold  weather,  awoke  Scipio,  who  got  up, 
and  ran  toward  the  door,  growling,  with  bristling 
moustache,  then  came  back,  and  stretched  himself 
out  near  my  chair,  thinking,  no  doubt,  that  a  good 
fire  was  better  than  the  pleasure  of  making  a  noise. 
Madame  Therese,  pale,  with  her  long  blue-black 
hair  falling  over  her  shoulders,  seemed  calm  and 
happy.  We  talked  quietly,  my  uncle  smoking  his 
porcelain  pipe,  with  an  air  of  gravity,  full  of  satis- 
faction. 

"  But  tell  me,  Madame  Therese,"  said  he,  in  a 
few  moments,  "  I  thought  I  cut  your  jacket,  and 
now  it  looks  as  good  as  new." 

"  Lisbeth  and  I  mended  it  yesterday,  Monsieur 
Jacob." 

"  Ah  !  good,  good  !  Then  you  know  how  to 
sew?  That  idea  hadn't  occurred  to  me  before.  I've 
always  imagined  you  on  a  bridge,  or  somewhere  near 
a  river,  under  fire." 

Madame  Therese  smiled. 

"  I'm  the  daughter  of  a  poor  school-master,"  said 
she,  "  and  the  first  thing  one  must  do  in  this  world, 
when  one  is  poor,  is  to  learn  how  to  earn  a  living. 
My  father  knew  this  ;  all  his  children  were  taught 
some  trade.  It  is  only  a  year  since  we  left,  and  not 
only  our  family,  but  all  the  young  men  in  the  town 


192  MADAME  THERESE 

and  surrounding  villages,  with  guns,  axes,  pitch- 
forks and  scythes — whatever  we  had — to  go  and 
meet  the  Prussians.  Brunswick's  proclamation  had 
roused  all  the  frontier.  We  learned  to  drill  on  the 
way.  Then  my  father,  an  educated  man,  was  at 
once  chosen  captain,  by  popular  vote,  and  later,  af- 
ter some  encounters,  he  became  commander  of  the 
battalion.  Until  our  departure,  I  had  helped  him 
with  his  classes.  I  took  charge  of  the  young  girls, 
and  taught  them  all  that  good  housekeepers  ought 
to  know.  Ah,  Monsieur  Jacob,  if  any  one  had  told 
me,  then,  that  I  should  one  day  march  with  soldiers, 
that  I  should  lead  my  horse  by  the  bridle  in  the 
middle  of  the  night,  that  I  should  drive  my  cart  over 
heaps  of  dead  bodies,  and  often,  during  whole  hours, 
see  my  way  only  by  the  light  of  the  firing,  I  would 
not  have  believed  it  ;  for  I  cared  only  for  simple 
household  duties.  I  was  even  very  timid  ;  a  look 
would  make  me  blush  in  spite  of  myself.  But  what 
can  we  not  do  when  great  duties  draw  us  from  ob- 
scurity, when  a  country  in  danger  calls  her  chil- 
dren !  Then  the  heart  bounds,  we  are  no  longer 
the  same,  we  march,  fear  is  forgotten,  and  long  af- 
terward, we  are  astonished  at  being  so  changed,  and 
haying  done  BO  many  things  that,  we  would  have 
thought  quite  impossible  !  " 


MADAME  THERESE  193 

"Yes,  yes,"  said  my  uncle,  bending  his  head, 
"now.  I  understand  you  —  I  see  things  clearly. 
Ah,  it  was  thus  that  they  rose  —  it  was  thus 
that  men  marched  en  masse!  See  what  an  idea 
can  do!  " 

We  continued  talking  in  this  strain  until  nearly 
noon,  when  Lisbeth  came  to  lay  the  table,  and  serve 
dinner.  We  watched  her  going  and  coming,  spread- 
ing the  cloth  and  placing  the  dishes,  and  when  she 
brought  the  smoking  soup,  Uncle  Jacob  said,  very 


"  Come,  Madame  Therese,"  —  rising,  and  helping 
her  to  walk  —  "  come  to  the  table.  You  are  now 
our  good  grandmother  Lehnel,  the  guardian  of  the 
domestic  hearth,  as  my  old  Professor  Eberhardt,  of 
Heidelberg,  used  to  say." 

She  smiled,  too,  and  when  we  were  seated  oppo- 
site each  other,  it  seemed  to  us  the  natural  order  of 
things,  that  all  must  have  been  so  ordained  from 
olden  times,  and  that  until  to-day  one  of  our  family 
had  been  wanting,  whose  presence  made  us  happier. 
Even  Lisbeth,  bringing  in  the  boiled  meat,  vege- 
tables and  roast,  stopped  each  time  to  contemplate 
us  with  an  air  of  profound  satisfaction,  and  Scipio 
kept  beside  me  as  much  ae  by  his  mistress,  making 
no  difference  between  us.  My  uncle  helped 
13 


I94  MADAME  THERESE 

Madame  Therese,  and  as  she  was  still  weak,  cut  her 
meat  for  her,  saying  : 

"  One  more  little  piece  !  What  you  need  now  i«> 
strength  ;  eat  that  too,  but  then  we  will  stop,  for 
everything  ought  to  be  done  in  moderation." 

When  we  had  nearly  finished,  he  went  out  for  a 
moment,  and  as  I  was  wondering  what  he  had  gone 
to  do,  he  reappeared  with  an  old  bottle  with  a  large 
red  seal,  covered  with  dust. 

"  There,  Madame  Therese,"  said  he,  placing  it  on 
the  table,  "  that  is  one  of  your  fellow-countrymen, 
who  comes  to  wish  you  good  health.  We  cannot 
refuse  him  that  satisfaction,  for  he  comes  from  Bur- 
gundy, and,  they  say,  has  a  gay  disposition." 

"  Is  this  the  way  you  treat  your  patients,  Mon- 
sieur Jacob? "  asked  Madame  Therese,  with  emo- 
tion. 

"  Yes,  all — I  order  them  whatever  will  give  them 
pleasure." 

"  Well,  yours  is  true  science — that  which  comes 
from  the  heart,  and  cures." 

My  uncle  was  going  to  pour  out  the  wine,  but 
stopping  suddenly,  he  looked  at  the  patient  with  an 
air  of  gravity,  and  said,  expressively  : 

"  I  see  that  we  agree  better  and  better  ;  and  you 
will  finish  by  becoming  converted  to  the  doctrine  of 
peace." 


MADAME   THERESE  195 

Then  lie  poured  some  drops  into  my  glass,  and 
filled  his  and  Madame  Therese's  to  the  brim,  saying: 

"  To  your  health,  Madame  Therese  !  " 

"  To  yours  and  Fritzel's  !  " 

And  we  drank  that  old  wine,  the  color  of  onion- 
skin, which  I  thought  very  good.  We  became  very 
gay.  Madame  Therese's  cheeks  took  a  slight  rose- 
tint,  betokening  the  return  of  health.  She  smiled, 
and  said  : 

"  This  wine  strengthens  me."  Then  she  began 
to  speak  of  rendering  herself  useful  in  the  house. 
"  I  am  already  very  strong  ;  I  can  work,  I  can  mend 
your  old  linen  ;  you  must  have  some,  Monsieur 
Jacob? " 

"  Oh,  no  doubt,  no  doubt,"  said  my  uncle,  smil- 
ing ;  "  Lisbeth's  eyes  are  not  what  they  were  at 
twenty  ;  she  spends  hours  in  darning  one  hole. 
You'll  be  very  useful  to  me,  very  useful.  But  it 
isn't  time  for  that  yet.  It's  still  necessary  for  you  to 
rest." 

"  But,"  said  she,  looking  at  me  sweetly,  "  if  I 
can't  work,  yet,  you'll  at  least  permit  me  to  take 
your  place  for  Fritzel,  sometimes.  You  haven't 
time  always  to  give  him  your  good  French  lessons, 
and  if  you  will  " 

"  Ah,  that's  different  !  "    cried   Uncle   Jacob  ; 


196  MADAME  THERESE 

"  yes,  I  call  that  an  excellent  idea,  excellent.  Lis- 
ten, Fritzel  :  in  future  you  will  take  your  lessons 
of  Madame  Therese.  You  must  try  to  profit  bj' 
them,  for  good  opportunities  of  instruction  are  rare 
— very  rare  !  " 

I  had  become  very  red,  for  I  was  thinking  how 
much  time  Madame  Therese  had;  but  she,  guess- 
ing my  thoughts,  said,  kindly  : 

"  Don't  fear,  Fritzel.  I'll  give  you  plenty  of 
time  for  play.  We'll  read  Buffon  together,  only 
one  hour  in  the  morning,  and  one  at  night.  Don't 
be  afraid,  my  child.  I  won't  tire  you  too  much." 

She  drew  me  gently  to  her,  and  kissed  me.  Then 
the  door  opened,  and  the  mole-catcher  and  Koffel 
entered,  gravely,  dressed  in  their  Sunday  clothes. 
They  had  come  to  take  coffee  with  us.  It  was  easy 
to  see  that  my  uncle,  on  inviting  them,  in  the  morn- 
ing, had  told  them  of  the  courage  and  great  fame  of 
Madame  Therese  in  the  armies  of  the  Republic,  for 
they  were  by  no  means  the  same  as  usual.  The 
mole-catcher  no  longer  kept  his  fur  cap  on,  and  Kof- 
fel had  put  on  a  white  shirt,  the  collar  of  which  rose 
above  his  ears  ;  he  held  himself  very  straight,  his 
hands  in  his  vest  pockets,  and  his  wife  must  have  put 
on  a  button  to  fasten  the  second  suspender  of  his 
breeches,  for  they  no  longer  hung  upon  one  side,  but 


MADAME   THERESE  197 

were  even  on  both  ;  moreover,  instead  of  his  old 
clogs  full  of  holes,  he  wore  his  best  shoes.  In  short, 
both  had  the  appearance  of  grave  personages  coming 
from  some  extraordinary  conference,  and  both 
bowed  very  impressively,  and  said  : 

"  We  salute  the  company  !  " 

"  Good,  it's  you  !  "  said  my  uncle  ;  "  come,  sit 
down."  Then  turning  toward  the  kitchen  he  cried: 

"  Lisbeth,  you  may  bring  the  coffee." 

At  that  moment,  glancing  by  chance  at  the  win- 
dow, he  saw  old  Adam  Schmitt  passing,  and  rising 
immediately,  tapped  on  the  pane,  saying  : 

"  Here's  an  old  soldier  of  Frederic,  Madame 
Therese  ;  you  will  be  happy  to  make  his  acquaint- 
ance. He  is  a  good  man." 

Father  Schmitt  had  come  to  see  what  Uncle  Jacob 
wanted,  and  Uncle  Jacob,  having  opened  the  win- 
dow, said  : 

"  Father  Adam,  will  you  give  us  the  pleasure  of 
taking  coffee  with  us?  I  always  have  that  old  cog- 
nac, you  know  !  " 

"  Willingly,  doctor,"  replied  Schmitt,  "  very 
willingly." 

Then  he  appeared  in  the  doorway,  and  making 
the  military  salute,  said  : 

"  Best  respects  1  " 


198  MADAME   THERESE 

Then  the  mole-catcher,  Koffel,  and  Schmitt, 
standing  around  the  table  in  embarrassment,  began 
to  talk  to  each  other  in  low  tones,  looking  at  Madame 
Therese,  as  if  they  had  something  very  important 
to  communicate,  while  Lisbeth  took  off  the  table- 
cloth, and  spread  the  oil-cloth  on,  and  Madame 
Therese  continued  to  smile  upon  me,  and  pass  her 
hand  through  my  hair,  without  seeming  to  notice 
that  they  were  talking  about  her.  At  last,  Lisbeth 
brought  the  cups  and  the  little  decanters  of  cognac 
and  kirschenwasser  on  a  tray,  and  this  sight  made 
old  Schmitt  turn  round,  his  eyes  twinkling.  Lis- 
beth brought  the  coffee-pot,  and  my  uncle  said  : 

"  Let  us  sit  down." 

Everybody  sat  down,  and  Madame  Therese,  smil- 
ing on  all  these  honest  men,  said  : 

"  Allow  me  to  help  you,  gentlemen." 

Immediately,  Father  Schmitt,  again  making  the 
salute,  answered  : 

"  Military  honors  to  you  !  " 

Koffel  and  the  mole-catcher  looked  at  him  admir- 
ingly, and  each  thought  :  "  That  Father  Schmitt 
has  just  said  a  sensible  and  suitable  thing." 

Madame  Therese  filled  the  cups,  and  while  they 
drank  in  silence,  my  uncle,  placing  his  hand  on. 
Father  Schmitt's  shoulder,  said  : 


MADAME  THERESE 


199 


"  Madame  Therese,  I  present  to  you  an  old  soldier 
of  Frederic  the  Great,  a  man  who,  notwithstanding 
his  campaigns  and  his  wounds,  his  courage  and  his 
good  conduct,  became  only  a  simple  sergeant,  but 
whom  all  the  honest  men  in  the  village  esteem  as 
much  as  a  captain." 

Then  Madame  Therese  looked  at  Father  Schmitt, 
who  straightened  himself  up  in  his  chair  with  a  feel- 
ing of  natural  dignity. 

"  In  the  armies  of  the  Republic,  monsieur  might 
have  become  a  general,"  said  she.  "  If  France 
now  fights  all  Europe,  it  is  because  she  will  not  allow 
that  honors,  fortune,  and  all  the  good  things  of  the 
world,  should  crown  the  heads  of  a  few,  despite  their 
vices  ;  and  all  the  poverty  and  humiliations  the 
heads  of  others,  notwithstanding  their  merits  and 
virtues.  The  nation  finds  this  contrary  to  the  law 
of  God,  and  to  change  it,  we  will  all  die,  if  it  be 
necessary!  " 

At  first  no  one  replied.  Schmitt  looked  at  this 
woman  earnestly,  his  large  gray  eyes  wide  open. 
His  lips  were  compressed,  and  he  seemed  to  reflect. 
The  mole-catcher  and  Koffel  looked  at  each  other  ; 
Madame  Therese  seemed  a  little  excited,  and  my 
uncle  remained  calm.  I  had  left  the  table,  for 
Uncle  Jacob  did  not  allow  me  to  take  coffee,  think- 


aoo  MADAME  THERESE 

ing  it  injurious  to  children,  and  was  standing  behind 
the  stove,  looking  and  listening.  In  a  moment 
Uncle  Jacob  said  to  Schmitt  : 

"  Madame  was  cantiniere  in  the  second  battalion 
of  the  first  brigade  of  the  army  of  the  Moselle." 

"  I  know  it  already,  doctor,"  answered  the  old 
soldier  ;  "  and  I  also  know  what  she  did." 

Then  raising  his  voice,  he  cried  : 

"  Yes,  madame,  if  I  had  had  the  happiness  of 
serving  in  the  armies  of  the  Republic,  I  would  have 
become  a  captain — perhaps  even  a  colonel — or  I 
would  have  died."  Then  placing  his  hand  on  his 
breast — "  I  was  ambitious  ;  not  to  flatter  myself,  I 
wasn't  wanting  in  courage,  and  if  I  could  have  risen 
I  would  have  been  ashamed  to  remain  in  an  inferior 
position.  The  king  remarked  me  on  several  occa- 
sions— a  rare  thing  for  a  common  soldier — and  that 
was  an  honor.  At  Rosbach,  while  the  captain  be- 
hind us  cried,  '  Forward  ! '  it  was  really  Adam 
Schmitt  who  commanded  the  company.  Ah,  well  ! 
all  that  amounted  to  nothing  ;  and  now,  although 
I  receive  a  pension  from  the  King  of  Prussia,  I'm 
forced  to  say  the  Republicans  are  right.  That's  my 
opinion." 

Then  he  emptied  his  little  glass  quickly,  and 
•winking  in  an  odd  manner,  added  : 


MADAME   THERESE  201 

"  And  they  fight  well,  I  saw  that — yes — they 
fight  well.  They  have  not  the  regular  movements 
of  old  soldiers,  yet,  but  they  sustain  a  charge  well, 
and  it  is  by  that  one  knows  strong  men  in  the  ranks." 

After  these  words  of  Father  Schmitt's  they  all 
began  to  praise  the  new  ideas.  One  would  have 
thought  that  the  signal  for  a  general  confidence  had 
just  been  given,  and  that  each  wished  to  reveal 
thoughts  which  he  had  long  kept  secret.  Koffel, 
who  was  always  complaining  of  not  having  received 
an  education,  said  that  all  the  children  ought  to  go 
to  school  at  the  country's  expense  ;  that  as  God  had 
not  given  more  heart  and  mind  to  the  nobles  than  to 
other  men,  each  one  had  a  right  to  the  dew  and  the 
light  of  heaven  ;  thus  the  good  grain  would  not  be 
choked  by  tares,  nor  the  culture  which  would  help 
more  useful  plants  be  wasted  upon  thistles. 

Madame  Therese  replied  that  the  National  Con- 
vention had  voted  fifty-four  million  francs  for  pub- 
lic education — regretting  that  they  could  not  do 
more — at  the  time  when  all  Europe  was  in  arms 
against  them,  and  they  were  obliged  to  sustain  four- 
teen armies  in  the  field. 

Koffel's  eyes  filled  with  tears  as  he  heard  this,  and 
I  shall  never  forget  how  he  said  in  a  trembling 
voice — 


202  MADAME   THERESE 

"  Well,  God  bless  them,  God  bless  them  !  So 
much  the  worse  for  us,  but  though  I  should  lose 
everything  through  them,  it  is  for  their  success  that 
I  will  pray." 

The  mole-catcher  remained  silent  a  long  time,  but 
when  he  once  began,  there  was  no  stopping  him. 
Not  only  did  he  demand  education  for  the  children, 
but  he  desired  the  utter  overturning  of  everything. 
One  would  not  have  supposed  that  so  peaceable  a 
man  could  entertain  such  ideas. 

"  I  say  it's  shameful  to  sell  regiments  like  droves 
of  cattle  !  "  cried  he,  earnestly,  stretching  out  his 
hand  over  the  table.  "  I  say  it's  still  more  shameful 
to  sell  the  office  of  judge,  for  judges,  to  get  their 
money  back,  sell  justice  ; — I  say  that  the  Repub- 
licans have  done  well  to  abolish  the  convents,  in 
which  idleness  and  all  the  vices  flourish,  and  every- 
body ought  to  be  free  to  go,  to  come,  to  trade,  to 
work,  to  advance  in  every  walk  of  life,  without  any 
one's  opposing  them.  And,  finally,  I  believe  that 
if  the  drones  won't  go,  nor  work,  the  good  God 
wants  the  bees  to  get  rid  of  them,  as  we've  always 
seen,  and  always  shall  see,  until  the  end  of  time." 

Old  Schmitt,  then  more  at  his  ease,  said  his  ideas 
were  the  same  as  the  mole-catcher's  and  Koffel's  ; 
and  my  uncle,  who  until  then  had  preserved  his 


MADAME   THERESE 


203 


calmness,  could  not  help  approving  these  senti- 
ments, which  are  the  truest,  the  most  natural,  and 
most  just. 

"  Only,"  said  he,  "  instead  of  wanting  to  do  ev- 
erything in  a  day,  it's  much  better  to  work  slowly 
and  progressively.  We  must  employ  gentle  and 
persuasive  means,  as  Christ  did.  That  would  be 
wiser,  and  the  same  results  would  be  obtained." 

Madame  Therese  smiled,  and  said  : 

"  Ah,  Monsieur  Jacob,  no  doubt,  if  everybody 
was  like  you.  But  for  how  many  hundred  years 
has  Christ  preached  kindness,  justice,  and  gentle- 
ness to  men?  And  yet,  do  your  nobles  listen?  Do 
they  treat  the  peasants  like  brothers?  No,  no  !  It 
is  unfortunate,  but  war  is  necessary.  In  the  three 
years  which  have  just  passed,  the  Republic  has  done 
more  for  the  rights  of  man  than  was  done  in  the 
eighteen  hundred  years  before.  Believe  me,  doc- 
tor, the  resignation  of  good  men  is  a  great  evil  ;  it 
emboldens  the  bad,  and  is  productive  of  no  good." 

All  agreed  with  Madame  Therese,  and  Uncle 
Jacob  was  going  to  reply,  when  Clementz,  the  car- 
rier, with  his  large  hat  covered  with  oil-cloth,  and 
his  red  leather  bag,  opened  the  door,  and  handed  in 
the  newspaper. 

"  Won't  you  take  some  coffee,  Clementz? "  said 
my  uncle. 


204  MADAME  THERESE 

"  No,  Monsieur  Jacob,  thank  you,  I'm  in  a  hurry; 
all  the  letters  are  late.  Another  time." 

He  went  out,  and  we  saw  him  run  past  the  win- 
dow. My  uncle  opened  the  paper,  and  began  to 
read,  gravely,  the  news  of  that  far-off  time.  Al- 
though very  young  then,  I  remember  it  well.  It 
seemed  to  verify  the  mole-catcher's  predictions,  and 
inspired  me  with  intense  interest.  The  old  Zeit- 
blatt  treated  the  Republicans  as  a  kind  of  madmen 
who  had  conceived  the  audacious  design  of  changing 
the  eternal  laws  of  nature.  It  recalled,  at  first,  the 
terrible  manner  in  which  Jupiter  had  overwhelmed 
the  Titans  who  had  revolted  against  his  throne  ; 
crushing  them  under  mountains,  so  that,  since  then, 
these  unfortunates  vomit  ashes  and  flame  from  the 
sepulchres  of  Vesuvius  and  Etna.  Then  it  spoke  of 
the  melting  of  the  bells  stolen  from  the  worship  of 
our  fathers  and  transformed  into  cannon, — one  of 
the  greatest  profanations  that  could  be  conceived, 
since  what  ought  to  give  life  to  the  soul  was  now 
destined  to  kill  the  body.  It  said,  also,  that  the 
assi gnats  were  worth  nothing,  and  that  soon,  when 
the  nobles  should  again  take  possession  of  their 
chateaux,  and  the  priests  of  their  convents,  those 
ralueless  papers  would  be  good  for  nothing  but  to 
kindle  the  kitchen  fires.  It  charitably  warned  peo- 


MADAME  THERESE  205 

pie  to  refuse  them,  no  matter  at  what  cost.  After 
this  came  the  list  of  executions,  and  unhappily,  it 
was  long  ;  so  the  Zeitblatt  declared  that  the  Repub- 
licans had  changed  the  proverb  that  "  wolves  do  not 
eat  each  other."  It  laughed  at  the  new  era,  styled 
Republican,  whose  months  were  called  vende* 
miaire,  brumaire,  frimaire,  nivose,  pluviose,  etc. 
These  madmen  intended  to  change  the  courses  of  the 
stars,  and  to  pervert  the  seasons,  it  said  ;  put  winter 
into  summer,  and  spring  into  autumn,  so  that  one 
would  no  longer  know  when  seed-time  or  harvest 
came;  they  had  no  common-sense,  and  all  the  peas- 
ants of  France  were  indignant  with  them. 

So  the  Zeitblatt  expressed  itself. 

Koffel  and  the  mole-catcher  glanced  at  each  other 
gravely,  from  time  to  time,  during  the  reading. 
Madame  Therese  and  Father  Schmitt  seemed  very 
thoughtful  ;  no  one  said  anything.  My  uncle  con- 
tinued to  read,  stopping  a  second  at  each  new  para- 
graph, and  the  old  clock  went  ticking  on. 

Toward  the  last,  the  questions  of  the  war  of  La 
Vendee  came  up,  of  the  taking  of  Lyons,  the  occu- 
pation of  Toulon  by  the  English  and  Spanish,  the 
invasion  of  Alsace  by  Wurmser,  and  the  battle-field 
of  Kaiserslautern,  from  which  these  famous  Repub- 
licans had  run  like  hares.  The  Zeitblatt  predicted 


2o6  MADAME  THERESE 

that  the  Republic  would  come  to  an  end  the  follow- 
ing spring,  and  closed  by  these  words  of  the  prophet 
Jeremiah,  which  it  addressed  to  the  French  people  : 

"  Thine  own  wickedness  shall  correct  thee,  and 
thy  backslidings  shall  reprove  thee  ;  know  therefore 
and  see  that  it  is  an  evil  thing  and  bitter,  that  thou 
hast  forsaken  the  Lord  thy  God." 

Then  my  uncle  folded  the  paper,  and  said, 

"  What  is  one  to  think  of  all  that?  Every  day 
they  announce  to  us  that  the  Republic  is  near  its 
end  ;  six  months  ago  it  was  surrounded  on  all  sides, 
three  quarters  of  its  provinces  had  risen  against  it. 
La  Vendee,  and  we,  too,  had  gained  great  victories. 
Well,  now  it  has  repulsed  us  nearly  everywhere,  it 
stands  against  all  Europe  as  a  great  monarchy  could 
not  do;  we  are  no  longer  in  the  heart  of  its  prov- 
inces, but  only  on  its  frontiers;  it  advances  even 
to  our  doors,  and  yet  they  say  it  is  going  to  perish  ! 
If  it  were  not  the  learned  doctor  Zacharias  who 
writes  these  things,  I  should  entertain  great  doubts 
of  their  good  faith." 

"  Ah,  Monsieur  Jacob,"  replied  Madame  The- 
rese,  "  perhaps  this  doctor  sees  things  as  he  wishes 
them.  That  often  happens,  and  does  not  prevent 
people  from  being  sincere.  They  don't  wish  to  de- 
ceive, but  they  deceive  themselves." 


MADAME  THERESE  207 

"  As  for  me,"  said  Father  Schmitt,  rising,  "  all 
I  know  is  that  the  Republicans  fight  well,  and  if  the 
French  have  three  or  four  hundred  thousand  like 
those  I've  seen,  I  fear  more  for  ourselves  than  for 
them.  That's  my  opinion.  As  to  Jupiter,  who 
puts  men  under  Vesuvius  to  make  them  vomit  fire, 
— that's  a  new  kind  of  battery,  that  I  know  nothing 
about,  but  I'd  like  very  well  to  see  it." 

"  And  I,"  said  the  mole-catcher,  "  think  that 
Doctor  Zacharias  doesn't  know  what  he  is  talking 
about  ;  if  I  edited  the  paper,  I  should  do  other- 
wise." 

He  stopped  to  take  a  coal  from  the  furnace,  for 
he  felt  great  need  of  smoking.  Old  Schmitt  fol- 
lowed his  example,  and  as  night  had  come,  they  went 
out  together,  Koffel  last,  pressing  Uncle  Jacob's 
hand  and  bowing  to  Madame  Therese. 


xnn 

THE  next  day  Madame  Therese  occupied  herself 
with  household  duties.  She  visited  the  presses,  un- 
folded the  table-cloths,  towels,  and  shirts,  and  even 
the  old  yellow  linen  which  had  lain  piled  up  there 
since  grandmother  LehnePs  time.  She  put  aside 
what  was  worth  repairing,  while  Lisbeth  placed  the 
large  tub  full  of  ashes  in  the  wash-house.  The 
water  must  boil  till  midnight  to  make  lye  for  the 
great  washing.  And  for  several  days  there  was  still 
more  work — washing,  drying,  ironing,  and  mend- 
ing, and  all  that. 

Madame  Therese  had  not  her  equal  for  needle- 
work. This  woman,  whom  people  had  thought 
only  fit  to  pour  out  glasses  of  brandy,  and  jog  along 
in  a  cart  behind  a  crowd  of  sans-culottes,  knew  more 
about  domestic  matters  than  any  gossip  in  Anstatt. 
She  even  showed  us  the  art  of  embroidering  wreaths, 
and  of  marking  the  fine  linen  with  red  letters,  a 
thing  of  which  we  in  the  mountains  were  entirely 

ignorant  until  then,  which  proves  what  information 

208 


MADAME   THERESE 


209 


is  diffused  by  great  revolutions.  Moreover  Madame 
Therese  helped  Lisbeth  in  the  kitchen,  without  in- 
terfering with  her,  knowing  that  the  old  servants 
cannot  bear  to  have  their  arrangements  disturbed. 

"  You  see,  Madame  Therese,"  the  old  woman 
sometimes  said,  "  how  people's  notions  change.  At 
first  I  couldn't  endure  you  on  account  of  your  Re- 
public, and  now,  if  you  were  to  go  away,  I  believe 
all  the  house  would  go,  and  that  we  couldn't  live 
without  you." 

"  Oh,"  answered  she,  smiling,  "  every  one  has 
his  own  ways.  When  you  did  not  know  me  you  felt 
distrustful  of  me  ;  anybody  in  your  place  would 
have  felt  the  same."  Then  she  added,  sadly,  "  Nev- 
ertheless I  must  go,  Lisbeth.  My  place  is  not  here. 
Other  duties  call  me  elsewhere." 

She  was  always  thinking  of  her  battalion,  and 
when  Lisbeth  cried  out  : 

"  Pshaw,  you  must  stay  with  us,  you  can't  leave 
us  now.  You  know  that  they  think  a  great  deal  of 
you  in  the  village  ;  the  people  respect  you  greatly. 
Leave  your  sans-culottes.  It  isn't  the  life  for  an 
honest  person  to  be  struck  by  balls  and  other  bad 
weapons,  following  the  soldiers.  We  won't  let  you 
go  away." 

She  shook  her  head,  and  one  could  easily  see  that 


a  io  MADAME  THERESE 

some  day  she  would  say  :  "  To-day,  I  am  going  !  " 
and  that  nothing  could  prevent  her. 

On  the  other  hand  the  discussions  on  war  and 
peace  continued.  It  was  Uncle  Jacob  who  recom- 
menced them.  Every  morning  he  came  down  to 
convert  Madame  Therese,  saying  that  peace  ought 
to  reign  on  earth,  that  in  the  beginning  peace  had 
been  established  by  God  himself,  not  only  among 
men,  but  among  animals  ;  all  religions  teach  the 
doctrine  of  peace  ;  all  sufferings  come  from  war, 
pestilence,  murder,  pillage,  incendiarism  ;  there 
must  be  a  chief  at  the  head  of  governments  to  main- 
tain order,  and  consequently  nobles  to  support  that 
chief  ;  these  things  had  existed  in  all  times;  among 
the  Hebrews,  the  Egyptians,  the  Assyrians,  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  ;  the  republic  of  Rome  had 
understood  this;  the  consuls  and  dictators  were  a 
kind  of  kings  supported  by  noble  senators,  who  were 
themselves  supported  by  noble  knights,  who  were 
above  the  people.  Such  was  the  natural  order,  and 
it  could  not  be  changed  without  detriment  even  to 
the  poorest,  for,  said  he,  the  poor,  in  disorder,  no 
longer  find  means  of  gaining  a  living,  and  per- 
ish like  leaves  in  autumn,  when  they  fall  from  the 
branches  which  give  them  sap.  He  said  many  more 
tnings  equally  strong  ;  but  Madame  Therese  always 


MADAME   THERESE  211 

found  some  good  reply.  She  declared  that  men 
have  equal  rights  by  God's  will  ;  that  rank  ought  to 
belong  to  merit,  and  not  to  blood  ;  wise  laws,  equal 
for  all,  establish  only  equitable  differences  among 
citizens,  approving  the  actions  of  some,  and  con- 
demning those  of  others  ;  it  is  shameful  and  miser- 
able to  grant  honors  and  authority  to  those  who  do 
not  merit  them  ;  it  is  to  degrade  authority  and 
honor  itself,  to  cause  them  to  be  represented  by  un- 
worthy persons,  and  to  destroy  in  all  hearts  the  senti- 
ment of  justice  by  showing  that  justice  does  not  ex- 
ist, since  everything  depends  upon  the  accident  of 
birth  ;  to  establish  such  a  state  of  things  men  must 
be  degraded,  for  intelligent  beings  would  not  suffer 
it  ;  such  degradation  is  contrary  to  God's  laws  ;  that 
we  must  contend  in  every  way  with  those  who  would 
bring  it  about  for  their  own  profit,  and  oppose  them 
by  all  means  in  our  power,  even  by  war, — the  most 
terrible  of  all,  it  is  true, — but  the  sin  of  which  falls 
upon  the  heads  of  those  who  provoke  it  by  trying  to 
establish  an  everlasting  iniquity  ! 

When  my  uncle  heard  these  replies  he  would  be- 
come grave.  If  he  had  a  journey  to  take  among 
the  mountains,  he  would  mount  his  horse  very 
thoughtfully,  and  all  day  he  would  seek  new  and 
stronger  reasons  to  convince  Madame  Therese.  In 


212  MADAME   THERESE 

the  evening  he  would  return  more  cheerful,  with 
proofs  which  he  considered  invincible,  but  his  belief 
did  not  last  long  ;  for  this  simple  woman,  instead  of 
talking  about  the  Greeks  and  Egyptians,  saw  at  once 
into  the  depths  of  things,  and  destroyed  my  uncle's 
historical  proofs  by  good  sense.  Yet,  Uncle  Jacob 
was  not  angry  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  exclaimed  ad- 
miringly : 

"  What  a  woman  you  are,  Madame  Therese  ! 
Without  having  studied  logic,  you  have  a  reply  for 
everything.  I'd  like  to  see  what  kind  of  a  face  the 
editor  of  the  Zeitblatt  would  make  arguing  with 
you.  I'm  sure  you'd  embarrass  him,  in  spite  of  his 
great  learning  and  even  his  good  cause  ;  for  ours  is 
the  good  cause,  only  I  defend  it  poorly." 

Then  they  would  both  laugh,  and  Madame  The- 
rese would  say  : 

"  You  defend  peace  very  well.  I  agree  with 
you  ;  only  let  us  rid  ourselves  of  those  who  de- 
sire war,  and  in  order  to  get  rid  of  them,  let  us  wage 
it  better  than  they.  You  and  I  will  soon  be  of  one 
opinion,  for  we  are  earnest  and  desire  justice.  But 
there  are  others  who  must  be  converted  by  cannon- 
shots,  since  that  is  the  only  voice  they  will  hear,  and 
the  only  reasoning  which  they  understand." 

My  uncle  would  make  no  answer,  and  what  great 


MADAME  THERESE  213 

ly  astonished  me  was  that  he  even  seemed  contented 
with  having  been  beaten.  Next  to  these  great  po- 
litical discussions,  that  which  gave  him  the  most 
pleasure  was  to  find  me,  on  returning  from  his  visits, 
taking  my  French  lesson,  Madame  Therese  sitting 
with  her  arm  around  me,  and  I  standing,  bending 
over  the  book.  He  would  come  in  softly,  so  as  not 
to  disturb  us,  and  sit  behind  the  stove,  stretching 
out  his  legs,  and  listening  in  a  sort  of  rapture.  Some- 
times he  would  wait  half  an  hour  before  taking  off 
his  boots  and  putting  on  his  loose  jacket,  he  was  so 
afraid  of  distracting  my  attention  ;  and  when  the 
lesson  was  finished,  he  would  exclaim  : 

"  Very  well,  Fritzel,  very  well  !  You're  acquir- 
ing a  taste  for  that  beautiful  language  that  Madame 
Therese  explains  to  you  so  well.  How  fortunate 
for  you  to  have  such  a  teacher  !  You'll  realize  that 
after  a  while." 

Then  he  would  kiss  me,  much  moved. 

What  Madame  Therese  did  for  me  he  valued 
more  than  if  it  had  been  for  himself. 

I  must  say,  also,  that  that  excellent  woman  did 
not  weary  me  for  a  single  moment  during  our  les- 
sons ;  if  she  saw  my  attention  lag,  she  would  im- 
mediately tell  me  little  stories  which  aroused  me; 
there  was  especially  a  certain  Republican  Gate- 


2I4  MADAME  THERESE 

chism,  full  of  noble  and  touching  incidents,  the  re- 
membrance of  which  will  never  be  effaced  from  my 
memory. 

Several  days  passed  thus.  The  mole-catcher  and 
Koffel  came  every  evening  as  usual.  Madame 
Therese  had  entirely  recovered,  and  it  seemed  as  if 
this  state  of  things  would  continue  forever,  when  an 
extraordinary  occurrence  came  to  disturb  our  quiet, 
and  to  urge  Uncle  Jacob  to  the  most  daring  under- 
takings. 


xrv 

ONE  morning  Uncle  Jacob  was  gravely  reading 
the  Republican  Catechism  near  the  stove.  Madame 
Therese  was  sewing  by  the  window,  and  I  was 
watching  for  a  good  opportunity  of  making  my  es- 
cape with  Scipio.  Outside  our  neighbor  Spick  was 
splitting  wood.  No  other  sound  was  heard  in  the 
village.  My  uncle's  book  seemed  to  interest  him 
very  much.  From  time  to  time  he  would  look  up, 
and  say, 

"  These  Republicans  have  good  traits  ;  they  take 
a  large  view  of  men — their  principles  elevate  the 
soul.  It  is  really  beautiful  !  I  can  understand 
how  the  young  adopt  their  doctrines,  for  all  young 
people  who  are  healthy  in  body  and  mind  love  virt- 
ue. Those  who  become  decrepit  before  they  are 
old,  from  selfishness  and  bad  passions,  are  just  the 
opposite.  What  a  pity  that  such  men  constantly 
have  recourse  to  violence  !  " 

Then  Madame  Therese  would  smile,  and  he  would 
resume  his  reading.  This  continued  for  about  half 
215 


216  MADAME  THERESE 

an  hour,  and  Lisbeth,  after  having  swept  the  entry, 
was  going  to  have  her  share  of  gossip  at  old  Basel's 
as  usual,  when  suddenly  a  man  on  horseback  stopped 
at  our  door.  He  wore  a  large  blue  cloth  cloak,  a 
sheepskin  cap,  and  had  a  snub-nose  and  gray  beard. 
My  uncle  put  down  his  book.  We  all  looked  at 
the  stranger  from  the  windows. 

"  Somebody  has  come  after  you  for  some  sick  per- 
son, doctor,"  said  Madame  Therese. 

My  uncle  did  not  answer.  The  man,  after  fas- 
tening his  horse  to  the  post,  entered  the  house. 

"  Are  you  Doctor  Jacob?  "  asked  he,  opening  the 
door. 

"  I  am  he,  sir." 

"  Here  is  a  letter  from  Doctor  Feuerbach  of 
Kaiserslautern." 

"  Sit  down,  sir,"  said  Uncle  Jacob. 

The  man  remained  standing.  My  uncle  became 
very  pale  on  reading  the  letter.  For  a  moment  he 
seemed  troubled,  and  looked  at  Madame  Therese 
anxiously. 

"  I  must  take  back  your  answer,  if  there  be  any," 
said  the  man. 

"  Tell  Feuerbach  that  I  thank  him, — that  is  the 
only  answer." 

Then  without  adding  anything  he  went  out  bare- 


MADAME   THERESE 


217 


headed  with  the  messenger,  whom  we  saw  go  down 
the  street,  leading  his  horse  toward  the  inn  of  the 
Little  Golden  Pitcher.  Doubtless  he  was  going  to 
refresh  himself  before  returning.  We  saw  my  un- 
cle pass  the  window  to  go  into  the  shed.  Then  Ma- 
dame Therese  seemed  disturbed. 

"  Fritzel,"  said  she,  "  go  take  your  uncle  his 
cap." 

I  went  out  at  once,  and  found  him  walking  up 
and  down  with  long  strides  before  the  barn.  He 
was  still  holding  the  letter,  not  thinking  of  putting 
it  in  his  pocket.  Spick  was  looking  at  him  strange- 
ly from  his  doorway,  leaning  on  his  axe.  Two  or 
three  of  the  neighbors,  also,  were  looking  from  their 
windows.  It  was  very  cold  out-of-doors,  and  I  went 
in  again.  Madame  Therese  had  laid  down  her 
work  and  was  sitting  pensively  with  her  elbow  on 
the  window-sill.  I  sat  down  behind  the  stove,  hav- 
ing no  desire  to  go  out  again.  I  remembered  all 
these  things  during  my  childhood  ;  but  what  hap- 
pened afterward,  for  a  long  time  seemed  like  a 
dream,  for  I  could  not  understand  it.  And  it  is  only 
since  I  have  grown  older,  that,  thinking  it  over,  I 
have  understood  it.  I  remember  that  my  uncle 
came  in  a  few  minutes  afterward,  saying  that  men 
were  scoundrels,  creatures  who  sought  only  to  in- 


2i8  MADAME   THERESE 

jure  each  other  ;  that  he  sat  down  by  the  little  win- 
dow not  far  from  the  door,  and  began  to  read  his 
friend  Feuerbach's  letter  ;  while  Madame  Therese 
stood  listening  to  him  erect  and  calm,  in  her  little 
jacket  with  its  double  row  of  buttons,  her  hair  twist- 
ed at  the  back  of  her  head. 

All  this  I  see,  and  Scipio,  too,  in  the  middle  of  the 
room,  with  upturned  head  and  curled  up  tail.  But 
as  the  letter  was  written  in  Saxon  German,  all  that  I 
could  understand  of  it  was  that  Uncle  Jacob  had 
been  denounced  as  a  Jacobin,  at  whose  house  the 
rabble  of  the  country  assembled  to  celebrate  the 
Revolution, — that  Madame  Therese  was  also  de- 
nounced as  a  dangerous  woman,  regretted  by  the 
Republicans  on  account  of  her  extraordinary  cour- 
age, and  that  a  Prussian  officer,  accompanied  by  a 
sufficient  escort,  was  coming  for  her  the  next  day, 
and  would  send  her  to  Mayence  with  the  other  pris- 
oners. I  remember  that  Feuerbach  advised  my 
uncle  to  be  very  prudent,  because  the  Prussians, 
since  their  victory  at  Kaiserslautern,  were  masters  of 
the  country,  and  they  were  arresting  all  dangerous 
men  and  sending  them  to  Poland,  two  hundred 
leagues  from  there,  into  the  marshes,  as  an  example 
to  others. 

What  seemed  most   astonishing   to  me  was  the 


MADAME   THERESE 


219 


manner  in  which  Uncle  Jacob,  the  calm  man,  the 
great  lover  of  peace,  became  indignant  at  his  old 
comrade's  advice.  Our  little  sitting-room,  usually 
so  peaceful,  was  that  day  the  scene  of  a  terrible 
storm,  and  I  doubt  whether  it  had  ever  seen  the  like, 
since  the  house  was  built.  My  uncle  accused  Feuer- 
bach  of  being  a  self-seeker,  ready  to  bow  to  the  ar- 
rogance of  the  Prussians,  who  treated  the  Palatinate 
and  the  Hundsruck  like  a  conquered  country.  He 
declared  that  laws  existed  in  Mayence,  in  Treves 
and  Spire,  as  well  as  in  France  ;  Madame  Therese 
had  been  left  for  dead  by  the  Austrians  ;  they  had 
no  right  to  reclaim  persons  and  things  which  they 
had  abandoned  ;  she  was  free  ;  he  would  suffer  no 
one  to  lay  his  hand  on  her  ;  he  would  protest  against 
it  ;  the  lawyer  Pf effel  of  Heidelberg  was  his  friend ; 
he  would  write,  he  would  defend  himself  ;  he  would 
move  heaven  and  earth  ;  they  should  see  if  Jacob 
"Wagner  would  allow  himself  to  be  treated  in  that 
manner;  they  would  be  astonished  at  what  a 
peaceable  man  was  capable  of  doing  for  right  and 
justice. 

As  he  talked  he  walked  up  and  down  with  dis- 
ordered hair  ;  he  quoted  at  random  in  Latin  all  the 
old  laws  that  he  could  recall.  He  also  spoke  of  cer- 
tain sentences  on  the  rights  of  man  which  he  had 


220 


MADAME   THERESE 


just  read,  and  from  time  to  time  he  stopped,  bent  his 
knee,  put  his  foot  down  with  force,  and  cried  : 

"  I  stand  on  the  basis  of  law  —  on  the  brazen 
foundations  of  our  ancient  charters.  Let  the  Prus- 
sians come  —  let  them  come  !  This  woman  is  mine 
—  I  rescued  her  and  saved  her  life.  The  thing 
abandoned,  *  res  derelicta  est  res  puUica,  res  vul- 


I  do  not  know  where  he  had  learned  all  this  ;  per- 
haps at  the  University  of  Heidelberg,  hearing  his 
companions  argue  among  themselves.  But  at  that 
time  all  these  old  studies  passed  through  his  mind 
and  he  seemed  to  be  replying  to  a  dozen  persons  who 
were  attacking  him  at  once. 

Madame  Therese  remained  calm,  her  long,  thin 
face  very  thoughtful.  ]STo  doubt  my  uncle's  quota- 
tions astonished  her,  but  seeing  things  clearly,  as 
usual,  she  understood  her  true  position.  It  was 
only  at  the  end  of  a  long  half  -hour,  when  my  uncle 
opened  his  secretary  and  seated  himself  to  write  to 
the  lawyer  Pfeffel,  that  she  placed  her  hand  gently 
on  his  shoulder,  and  said  with  emotion  : 

"  Don't  write,  Monsieur  Jacob,  it  is  useless.  Be- 
fore your  letter  arrives  I  shall  be  far  away." 

My  uncle  looked  at  her,  turning  very  pale. 

"  You  want  to  go  away,  then?  "  he  asked  with 
trembling  lips. 


MADAME   THERESE  221 

"  I  am  a  prisoner,"  said  she,  "  I  know  that  ;  my 
only  hope  was  that  the  Republicans,  returning  to  the 
attack,  would  deliver  me  as  they  marched  upon 
Landau  ;  but  since  it  is  otherwise,  I  must  go." 

"  You  want  to  go  away  !  "  repeated  he,  despair- 
ingly- 

"  Yes,  doctor,  I  want  to  go,  to  spare  you  great  an- 
noyance ;  you  are  too  good,  too  generous  to  under- 
stand the  strict  laws  of  war  ;  you  see  only  justice  ! 
But  in  time  of  war,  justice  is  nothing,  force  is  every- 
thing. The  Prussians  are  conquerors,  they  will 
come  and  take  me  away  because  those  are  their  or- 
ders. Soldiers  know  only  their  orders  ;  law,  life, 
honor,  man's  reason,  are  nothing  ;  their  orders  are 
above  all." 

My  uncle  sank  back  in  his  arm-chair,  his  large 
eyes  filled  with  tears,  not  knowing  what  to  reply  ; 
but  he  took  Madame  Therese's  hand,  and  pressed  it 
with  great  emotion,  then  rising  with  agitated  face, 
he  began  to  walk  up  and  down,  again  invoking  the 
execration  of  future  ages  upon  the  oppressors  of 
mankind,  cursing  Richter  and  all  scoundrels  like 
him,  and  declaring  in  a  voice  of  thunder  that  the 
Republicans  were  right  in  defending  themselves  ; 
their  cause  was  just  ;  he  saw  it  now  ;  and  all  the 
old  laws,  the  old  rubbish  of  ordinances,  rules  and 


222  MADAME   THERESE 

charters  of  all  sorts  had  never  benefited  any  but  the 
nobles  and  monks,  to  the  injury  of  the  poor.  His 
face  was  swollen,  he  staggered,  he  could  no  longer 
speak  plainly,  but  stammered.  He  said  that  every- 
thing ought  to  be  wholly  abolished  ;  courage  and 
virtue  only  ought  to  triumph,  and  finally,  in  an  ex- 
traordinary kind  of  enthusiasm,  his  arm  extended 
toward  Madame  Therese,  and  his  face  red  even  to 
his  neck,  he  proposed  to  take  her  in  his  sleigh  to  the 
mountain,  to  the  house  of  a  woodcutter — one  of  his 
friends — where  she  would  be  safe.  He  seized  her 
hands,  and  said  : 

"  Let  us  go — let  us  go  there — you  will'  be  well 
cared  for  in  old  Ganglof's  house.  He  is  entirely 
devoted  to  me — I  saved  his  life,  and  his  son's — 
they  will  conceal  you — the  Prussians  will  not  go 
look  for  you  in  the  passes  of  the  Lauterfelz  !  " 

But  Madame  Therese  refused,  saying  that  if  the 
Prussians  should  not  find  her  at  Anstatt,  they  would 
arrest  him  in  her  place;  and  she  would  rather  risk 
perishing  of  fatigue  and  cold  on  the  highway,  than 
expose  to  such  a  misfortune,  a  man  who  had  rescued 
her  from  among  the  dead.  She  said  this  very  firm- 
ly, but  my  uncle  would  give  no  weight  to  such  rea- 
sons. I  remember  that  what  troubled  him  most 
was  the  thought  of  seeing  Madame  Therese  going 


MADAME  THERESE  223 

away  with  barbarous  men,  savages  from  the  depths 
of  Pomerania  ;  he  could  not  endure  this  idea,  and 
cried  : 

"  You  are  weak — you  are  still  an  invalid  !  These 
Prussians  respect  nothing — they  are  a  race  full  of 
boasting  and  brutality.  You  don't  know  how  they 
treat  their  prisoners.  I  have  seen  it  myself — it  is  a 
disgrace  to  my  country — I  would  have  concealed 
this,  but  I  must  acknowledge  it  now,  it  is  frightful !" 

"  ISTo  doubt,  Monsieur  Jacob,"  replied  she  ;  "  I 
know  that  from  the  old  prisoners  of  our  battalion. 
We  shall  march  two  by  two,  or  four  by  four,  sad, 
sometimes  without  bread,  often  hurried  and  brutally 
treated  by  the  escort.  But  your  peasants  are  good 
— they  are  honest  men — they  have  pity — and  the 
French  are  gay,  doctor, — the  journey  will  be  the 
only  hardship  ;  and  moreover  I  shall  find  ten, 
twenty  of  my  comrades  to  carry  my  little  bundle  ; 
the  French  respect  women.  I  see  it  beforehand," 
said  she,  smiling  sadly  :  "  one  of  us  will  march  be- 
fore, singing  an  old  air  of  Auvergne  to  mark  the 
step,  or  else  a  more  joyous  Provengal  song,  to  bright- 
en your  dark  skies.  "We  shall  not  be  so  unhappy  as 
you  think,  Monsieur  Jacob." 

She  spoke  gently,  her  voice  trembling  a  little,  and 
as  she  was  speaking  I  could  see  her  with  her  little 


224  MADAME  THERESE 

bundle  in  the  file  of  prisoners,  and  my  heart  sank. 
Oh,  then  I  knew  how  much  we  loved  her,  how  it 
would  pain  us  to  see  her  go  away.  Suddenly  I  burst 
into  tears,  and  my  uncle  sitting  opposite  the  secre- 
tary, his  face  in  his  hands,  remained  silent,  but  great 
tears  flowed  slowly  down  his  cheeks.  Madame  The- 
rese,  seeing  this,  could  not  help  weeping.  She 
took  me  tenderly  in  her  arms,  and  kissed  me  warmly, 
saying  : 

"  Don't  cry,  Fritzel ;  don't  cry  so.  You'll  think 
of  me  sometimes — won't  you  ?  I  shall  never  forget 
you." 

Scipio  alone  remained  calm,  walking  around  the 
stove,  and  understanding  nothing  of  our  trouble. 
It  was  not  until  nearly  ten  o'clock,  when  we  heard 
Lisbeth  lighting  the  kitchen  fire,  that  we  became 
somewhat  calm. 

Then  my  uncle,  blowing  his  nose  forcibly,  said  : 

"  Madame  Therese,  you  must  go,  since  you  really 
wish  to,  but  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  allow  the  Prus- 
sians to  come  here  and  take  you  away  like  a  thief, 
and  lead  you  through  the  whole  village.  If  one  of 
those  brutes  should  speak  a  cruel  or  insolent  word  to 
you,  I  should  forget  myself,  for  my  patience  would 
be  at  an  end  ;  I  feel  it,  I  should  be  capable  of  pro- 
ceeding to  great  extremities.  Let  me  take  you  to 


MADAME  THERESE  225 

Kaiserslautern  myself,  before  those  people  come. 
We  will  leave  early  in  the  morning,  between  four 
and  five  o'clock,  in  my  sleigh  ;  we  will  take  the  by- 
roads, and  will  get  down  there  by  noon  at  the  latest. 
Do  you  consent  ?  " 

"  Oh,  Monsieur  Jacob,  how  could  I  refuse  this 
last  proof  of  your  affection  ?  "  said  she,  much  moved. 
"  I  accept  it  with  gratitude." 

"  "We  will  do  so,  then,"  said  he  gravely.  "  And 
now  let  us  dry  our  tears,  and  drive  away  these  bitter 
thoughts  as  much  as  possible,  so  as  not  to  sadden  the 
last  moments  that  we  shall  spend  together." 

He  kissed  me,  putting  back  the  hair  from  my 
forehead,  and  said : 

"  Fritzel,  you're  a  good  child;  you  have  an  ex- 
cellent heart.  Remember  that  your  Uncle  Jacob 
has  been  satisfied  with  you  this  day.  It  is  good 
to  say  to  ourselves  that  we  have  given  satisfaction 
to  those  who  love  u»l  " 


XV 

FROM  that  moment  quiet  returned  to  our  house. 
Every  one  thought  of  Madame  Therese's  departure, 
of  the  great  void  that  would  be  left  in  our  home, 
of  the  sadness  which  would  for  weeks  and  months 
succeed  the  pleasant  evenings  that  we  had  passed 
together,  of  the  sorrow  of  the  mole-catcher,  Koffel, 
and  old  Schmitt,  on  learning  the  bad  news;  the 
more  we  thought  of  it,  the  more  causes  for  grief 
and  loneliness  we  discovered.  What  seemed  to  me 
the  most  bitter,  was  parting  from  my  friend  Scipio. 
I  dared  not  say  it,  but  when  I  considered  that  he 
was  going  away,  that  I  could  no  longer  walk  with 
him  in  the  village,  in  the  midst  of  universal  admira- 
tion, nor  have  the  happiness  of  making  him  drill — 
that  I  should  be  as  I  was  before  he  came,  walking 
alone,  my  hands  in  my  pockets,  and  my  cotton  cap 
drawn  over  my  ears,  without  honor,  and  without 
glory — such  a  disaster  seemed  to  me  the  height  of 
misery.  And  what  caused  the  bitter  cup  to  over- 
flow, was  that  Scipio  had  just  placed  himself  before 
226 


MADAME  THERESE  227 

me,  looking  at  me  from  under  his  frowsy  eyebrows, 
as  sorrowfully  as  if  he  understood  that  we  were 
going  to  be  separated  forever.  Oh,  when  I  think 
of  these  things  even  now,  I  am  surprised  that  my 
thick,  fair  curls  did  not  turn  quite  gray,  in  the 
midst  of  such  distracting  thoughts.  I  could  not 
even  cry,  my  sorrow  was  so  great.  I  remained  with 
head  upturned,  my  lips  trembling,  and  my  hands 
clasped  around  one  knee. 

My  uncle  was  walking  up  and  down  with  long 
strides,  and  occasionally  he  coughed  a  little,  and 
then  quickened  his  steps. 

Madame  Therese,  always  active,  despite  her  sad- 
ness, and  her  red  eyes,  had  opened  the  chest  of  old 
linen,  and  was  cutting  from  thick  cloth  a  kind  of 
bag  with  double  straps,  in  which  to  put  her  things 
for  the  journey.  We  could  hear  the  crunching  of 
her  scissors  on  the  table.  She  arranged  the  pieces 
with  her  usual  skill.  At  last,  when  all  was  ready, 
she  drew  from  her  pocket  a  needle  and  thread,  sat 
down,  put  on  her  thimble,  and  after  that  we  could 
see  her  hand  coming  and  going  like  lightning. 
This  was  all  done  in  the  greatest  silence.  We  heard 
only  my  uncle's  heavy  step  on  the  floor,  and  the 
measured  ticking  of  our  old  clock,  which  neither 
our  joys  nor  our  sorrows  could  hasten  or  delay  one 


228  MADAME   THERESE 

second.  Thus  goes  life; — time  as  it  passes  does  not 
ask,  "  Are  you  sad?  Are  you  gay?  Do  you  weep? 
Do  you  laugh?  Is  it  spring,  autumn,  or  winter?  " 
It  goes  on,  goes  on,  always;  and  those  millions  of 
atoms  that  whirl  about  in  a  ray  of  sunlight,  and 
whose  life  begins  and  ends  from  one  "  tic-tac  "  to 
another,  are  of  as  much  account  to  it,  as  the  exist- 
ence of  an  old  man  of  a  hundred  years.  Alas!  we 
are  but  trifles. 

Lisbeth  having  come  in  toward  noon  to  lay  the 
cloth,  my  uncle  stopped  his  walk,  and  said: 

"  You  must  cook  a  little  ham  for  to-morrow 
morning.  Madame  Therese  is  going  away." 

And  as  the  old  woman  looked  at  him  in  amaze- 
ment— 

"  The  Prussians  claim  her  as  their  prisoner," 
said  he,  in  a  hoarse  voice ;  "  they  have  force  on 
their  side;  they  must  be  obeyed." 

Then  Lisbeth  put  her  plates  on  the  table,  and 
looking  from  one  to  the  other,  settled  her  cap  as 
if  this  news  had  disarranged  it,  and  said: 

"  Madame  Therese  going  away? — that  isn't  pos- 
sible— I'll  never  believe  that!  " 

"  It's  necessary,  my  poor  Lisbeth,"  replied  Ma- 
dame Therese,  sadly;  "it's  necessary;  I'm  a  pris- 
oner— they  are  coming  to  look  for  me." 


MADAME   THERESE 


229 


"  The  Prussians? " 

"  Yes,  the  Prussians." 

Then  the  old  woman,  choking  with  anger,  said: 

"  I  always  thought  the  Prussians  were  no  great 
things — a  heap  of  scoundrels — real  ruffians !  Com- 
ing to  attack  an  honest  woman!  If  men  had  two 
farthings'  worth  of  heart,  would  they  suffer  it?  " 

"And  what  would  you  do?"  asked  Uncle  Ja- 
cob, his  face  lighting  up,  for  the  old  servant's  in- 
dignation secretly  pleased  him. 

"I?  I'd  load  my  cavalry  pistol,"  cried  Lisbeth, 
"  and  call  to  them  through  the  window,  (  Leave, 
ruffians !  don't  come  in  here,  or  beware ! '  And 
the  first  one  who  should  pass  through  the  door,  I'd 
stretch  out,  stiff.  Oh,  the  wretches!  " 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  my  uncle,  "  that's  the  treatment 
such  men  ought  to  receive.  But  we're  not  the 
strongest." 

Then  he  resumed  his  walk,  and  Lisbeth,  trem- 
bling all  over,  arranged  the  dishes.  We  ate  our 
dinner  very  silently.  When  we  had  finished,  my 
uncle  went  to  get  a  bottle  of  old  Burgundy  from  the 
cellar,  and  came  back,  saying  sadly, 

"  Let  us  rejoice  our  hearts  a  little,  and  fortify 
ourselves  against  these  great  sorrows  which  over- 
whelm us.  Before  your  departure  let  this  old  wine 


230 


MADAME   THERESE 


which  has  strengthened  you,  Madame  Therese,  and 
gladdened  us  all  with  a  day  of  happiness,  sparkle 
again  in  our  midst  like  a  ray  of  sunlight,  and  scatter 
for  a  few  moments  the  clouds  that  surround  us." 

As  lie  said  this,  in  a  firm  voice,  we  for  the  first 
time  recovered  our  courage  a  little.  But  when,  a 
few  minutes  after,  he  told  Lisbeth  to  get  a  glass 
to  drink  with  Madame  Therese,  and  the  poor  old 
woman  burst  into  tears,  with  her  face  in  her  apron, 
our  firmness  vanished,  and  we  all  cried  together  in 
great  distress. 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  Uncle  Jacob,  "  we  have  been 
very  happy  together — such  is  the  life  of  man — joy- 
ful moments  pass  quickly,  and  sorrow  lasts  long. 
He  who  looks  down  upon  us  from  above  knows, 
nevertheless,  that  we  do  not  deserve  to  suffer  thus; 
that  wicked  men  have  made  us  miserable;  but  He 
knows,  also,  that  power,  true  power  is  in  His  hand, 
and  that  He  can  make  us  happy  whenever  He 
wishes.  This  is  why  He  permits  these  iniquities — 
He  will  reward  us.  Then  let  us  be  calm  and  trust 
in  Him.  To  the  health  of  Madame  Therese !  " 

And  we  all  drank,  the  tears  running  down  our 
cheeks.  Lisbeth,  hearing  the  power  of  God  men- 
tioned, was  somewhat  quieted,  for  she  was  pious, 
and  thought  that  things  ought  to  be  as  they  are, 


MADAME  THERESE 


231 


for  the  greatest  good  of  all  in  the  life  eternal,  but 
she  did  not  the  less  continue  to  curse  the  Prussians, 
and  all  who  were  like  them,  from  the  bottom  of 
her  soul. 

After  dinner  my  uncle  charged  her  particularly 
not  to  tell  of  what  was  going  to  happen  in  the  vil- 
lage, for  if  she  did,  Bichter,  and  all  the  bad  men  in 
Anstatt,  would  be  there  the  next  day  to  see  Madame 
Therese  depart,  and  to  rejoice  in  our  humiliation. 
She  understood  him  very  well,  and  promised  to  be 
discreet.  Then  my  uncle  went  to  see  the  mole- 
catcher.  All  that  afternoon  I  did  not  leave  the 
house.  Madame  Therese  continued  her  prepara- 
tions for  departure.  Lisbeth  helped  her,  and 
wanted  to  crowd  into  her  bag  a  quantity  of  useless 
things,  saying  that  all  would  be  needed  on  the  way 
— one  is  glad  to  find  what  one  has  put  in  a  corner; 
that  having  gone  to  Pirmasens  one  day  she  missed 
her  comb  and  braided  ribbons  very  much. 

Madame  Therese  smiled. 

"  No,  Lisbeth,"  said  she,  "  remember  that  I'm 
not  going  to  travel  in  a  carriage,  and  that  I  have 
to  carry  everything  on  my  back.  Three  good 
chemises,  three  handkerchiefs,  two  pairs  of  shoes, 
and  a  few  pairs  of  stockings  are  enough.  At  every 
halting-place  we  stop  an  hour  or  two  at  the  spring, 


232  MADAME  THERESE 

and  do  our  washing.  You  don't  know  what  a  sol- 
dier's washing  is?  How  many  times  I  have  done  it! 
"We  French  like  to  be  neat,  and  we  are  so,  with  our 
little  bundle." 

She  seemed  cheerful,  and  it  was  only  when  she 
occasionally  addressed  some  friendly  words  to 
Scipio  that  her  voice  became  very  sad.  I  did  not 
know  why,  but  I  knew  later,  when  Uncle  Jacob 
returned.  The  day  wore  on.  At  four  o'clock 
night  began  to  fall.  All  was  now  ready;  the  bag 
containing  Madame  Therese's  things  hung  on  the 
wall.  She  sat  down  by  the  stove,  taking  me  on  her 
lap  in  silence.  Lisbeth  went  into  the  kitchen  to 
prepare  supper,  and  after  that  not  a  word  was 
spoken.  The  poor  woman  was  doubtless  thinking 
of  the  future  which  awaited  her  on  her  way  to 
Mayence,  in  the  midst  of  her  companions  in  mis- 
fortune. She  said  nothing,  and  I  felt  her  sweet 
breath  on  my  cheek. 

Half  an  hour  afterward,  when  it  was  quite  dark, 
my  uncle  opened  the  door,  and  asked: 

"  Are  you  there,  Madame  Therese?  " 

"  Yes,  doctor." 

"  Good,  good !  I've  been  to  see  my  patients — 
I've  told  Koffel,  the  mole-catcher,  and  old  Schmitt. 
All's  right — they'll  be  here  this  evening  to  receive 
your  adieux." 


MADAME  THERESE  233 

TTia  voice  was  firm.  He  went  into  the  kitchen  to 
get  a  light,  and  returning,  seemed  much  pleased  to 
see  us  together. 

"  Fritzel  behaves  well,"  said  he.  "  Now  he  is 
going  to  lose  jour  good  lessons;  but  I  hope  he  will 
practise  reading  French  alone,  and  remember  al- 
ways that  a  man  is  worthy  only  in  proportion  to  his 
knowledge.  I  rely  upon  that." 

Then  Madame  Therese  made  him  examine  her 
little  bag  in  detail.  She  gmiled,  and  my  uncle 
said: 

"  What  happy  dispositions  the  French  have.  In 
the  midst  of  the  greatest  misfortunes  they  preserve 
a  store  of  natural  gayety;  their  sorrow  never  lasts 
many  days.  That  is  what  I  call  a  gift  from  God, 
the  finest,  the  most  desirable  of  all." 

But  on  that  day, — the  remembrance  of  which 
will  never  be  effaced  from  my  memory,  because  it 
was  the  first  time  I  had  witnessed  the  unhappi- 
nesg  of  those  I  loved, — in  all  that  day,  what  touched 
me  most,  was  this: — a  little  while  after  supper, 
Madame  Therese,  sitting  quietly  behind  the  stove, 
Scipio's  head  on  her  knees,  looking  dreamily  be- 
fore her,  said  suddenly: 

"  Doctor,  I  owe  you  much — and  yet  I  must  ask 
one  more  favor  of  you." 


234  MADAME   THERESE 

"  What  is  it,  Madame  Therese?  " 

"  It  is  that  you  will  take  care  of  my  poor  Scipio 
— take  care  of  him,  in  remembrance  of  me.  Let 
him  be  Fritzel's  companion,  as  he  has  been  mine, 
that  he  may  not  have  to  endure  the  new  trials  of  a 
prisoner's  life." 

When  she  said  that,  I  felt  my  heart  swell,  and 
I  trembled  all  over  with  delight  and  tenderness.  I 
was  sitting  on  my  little  low  chair  before  the  fire. 
I  drew  my  Scipio  to  me,  and  plunged  my  two  coarse 
red  hands  into  his  thick  hair;  a  flood  of  tears  rushed 
down  my  face.  It  seemed  to  me  that  I  had  lost  all 
the  blessings  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  they  had  just 
been  restored  to  me. 

My  uncle  looked  at  me  in  surprise.  He  must 
have  understood  what  I  had  suffered  at  the  thought 
of  being  separated  from  Scipio,  for  instead  of 
speaking  to  Madame  Therese  of  the  sacrifice  which 
she  was  making,  he  said,  simply: 

"  I  accept,  Madame  Therese,  I  accept  for  Frit- 
zel,  that  he  may  remember  how  much  you  loved 
him;  that  he  may  always  recollect  that  in  your 
greatest  sorrow  you  left  him,  as  a  mark  of  your  af- 
fection, a  good  faithful  creature, — not  only  your 
own  companion,  but  little  Jean's,  your  brother's, 
also.  Let  him  never  forget  it,  and  love  you  too." 


MADAME  THERESE  235 

Then  turning  to  me: 

"  Fritzel,  don't  you  thank  Madame  Therese?  " 

I  got  up,  and  not  being  able  to  say  a  word,  from 
6obbing,  threw  myself  into  that  excellent  woman's 
arms,  where  I  remained,  my  arm  on  her  shoulder, 
looking  through  great  tears  at  Scipio,  who  was  at 
our  feet,  and  touching  him  with  my  finger-ends, 
with  an  unspeakable  joy.  It  was  some  time  before 
I  could  be  quieted.  Madame  Therese  kissed  me, 
Baying: 

"  This  child  has  a  good  heart.  He  becomes  at- 
tached to  one  easily — that  is  good!  "  which  in- 
creased my  tears.  She  smoothed  the  hair  from  my 
forehead,  and  seemed  moved. 

After  supper,  Koffel,  the  mole-catcher,  and  old 
Schmitt  came  in,  their  caps  under  their  arms. 
They  expressed  to  Madame  Therese  their  grief  at 
parting  from  her,  and  their  indignation  against 
that  scoundrel,  Kichter,  to  whom  everybody  at- 
tributed the  denunciation,  for  he  alone  was  capable 
of  such  an  act.  They  sat  around  the  stove.  Ma- 
dame Therese  was  touched  with  the  sorrow  of  these 
honest  people,  but  nevertheless  her  firmness  and  de- 
cision did  not  desert  her. 

"Listen,  my  friends,"  said  she:  "if  the  world 
were  strewn  with  roses,  and  if  we  found  every- 


236  MADAME   THERESE 

where  only  noble  men  to  celebrate  justice  and  right, 
what  merit  would  there  be  in  advocating  these  prin- 
ciples? Really,  it  would  not  be  worth  the  trouble  of 
living.  We  happen  to  live  in  times  in  which  great 
things  are  done,  when  liberty  is  fought  for.  We 
shall  at  least  be  remembered,  and  our  existence  will 
not  have  been  useless;  all  our  poverty,  all  our  suf- 
ferings, all  the  blood  which  we  have  shed  will  form 
a  sublime  spectacle  for  future  generations;  wicked 
men  will  quake  when  they  think  that  they  might 
have  encountered  and  been  swept  away  by  us,  and 
all  great  souls  will  regret  not  having  been  alive  to 
share  our  labors.  These  are  the  teachings  of  events. 
Do  not  pity  me  then.  I  am  proud  and  happy  to 
suffer  for  France,  who  represents  liberty,  right,  and 
justice,  in  the  world.  You  believe  us  beaten? 
That  is  a  mistake.  We  retreated  one  step  yester- 
day; we  will  take  twenty  steps  forward  to-morrow. 
And  if  France  one  day  is  so  unfortunate  as  no  longer 
to  represent  the  great  cause  that  we  defend,  other 
people  will  take  our  places,  and  carry  on  our  work, 
for  justice  and  freedom  are  immortal,  and  all  the 
despots  in  the  world  will  never  succeed  in  destroy- 
ing them.  As  for  me,  I  may  go  to  Mayence,  and 
perhaps  to  Prussia,  escorted  by  Brunswick's  sol- 
diers; but  remember  what  I  say  to  you:  the  Re- 


MADAME  THERESE  237 

publicans  have  made  only  their  first  day's  march, 
and  I  am  sure  that  before  the  close  of  next  year 
they  will  come  to  deliver  me." 

Thus  spoke  this  proud  woman,  smiling,  with 
flashing  eyes.  We  could  easily  see  that  suffering 
was  nothing  to  her,  and  each  one  thought,  "  If 
these  are  the  Republican  women,  what  must  the 
men  be? " 

Koffel  grew  pale  with  pleasure,  as  he  listened 
to  her.  The  mole-catcher  winked  at  my  uncle,  and 
said,  very  low : 

"  I've  known  all  that  a  long  time ;  it's  written 
in  my  book.  These  things  must  happen — it's  writ- 
ten! " 

Old  Schmftt,  having  asked  permission  to  light 
his  pipe,  Hew  great  puffs,  one  after  another,  and 
murmured  between  his  teeth: 

"  How  unfortunate  that  I'm  not  twenty  years 
old!  I  would  join  those  people!  That's  what  I'd 
do.  What  could  prevent  me  from  becoming  a  gen- 
eral, like  any  other  man?  How  unfortunate!  " 

At  nine  o'clock  my  uncle  said: 

"  It's  late.  We  must  leave  before  day.  I  think 
we  had  better  take  a  little  rest." 

And  everybody  rose  with  emotion.  They  kissed 
like  old  friends,  promising  never  to  forget  each 


238  MADAME   THERESE 

other.  Koffel  and  Schmitt  went  out  first;  the  mole- 
catcher  and  my  uncle  stopped  a  moment  in  the 
doorway,  talking  in  low  tones.  The  moonlight  was 
superb,  the  earth  was  all  white,  the  sky  of  a  dark- 
blue,  crowded  with  stars.  Madame  Therese,  Scipio, 
and  I  went  out  together  to  see  this  magnificent 
sight,  which  makes  one  feel  the  littleness  and  van- 
ity of  human  beings,  and  overwhelms  the  mind 
with  its  illimitable  grandeur. 

Then  the  mole-catcher  went  away,  pressing  my 
uncle's  hand  again.  We  saw  him  as  if  it  were 
broad  daylight,  walking  down  the  deserted  street. 
At  last  he  disappeared  at  the  corner  of  Orties  Lane, 
and  as  it  was  very  cold,  we  all  went  in  to  say  good- 
night. 

My  uncle  kissed  me  at  the  door  of  my  chamber, 
and  said  in  a  strange  voice,  pressing  me  to  his 
heart — 

"  Fritzel — work — work — and  behave  well,  dear 
child!  " 

He  went  into  his  room,  much  agitated. 

For  my  part,  I  could  only  think  of  the  happiness 
of  taking  care  of  Scipio.  Once  in  my  room,  I  put 
him  on  the  bed,  at  my  feet,  between  the  warm 
feather  bed  and  the  bedstead.  He  lay  quiet,  with 
his  head  between  his  paws.  I  could  feel  his  sides 


MADAME  THERESE  239 

dilate  gently  at  every  breath,  and  I  would  not  have 
changed  places  with  the  Emperor  of  Germany.  I 
could  not  sleep  until  after  ten  o'clock,  for  thinking 
of  my  happiness.  My  uncle  was  moving  about  in 
his  room.  I  heard  him  open  his  secretary  and  after- 
ward make  a  fire  in  his  chamber  stove  for  the  first 
time  that  winter,  and  I  thought  he  intended  to  sit 
up.  At  last  I  slept  soundly. 


XVI 

THE  church-clock  was  striking  nine  when  I  was 
awakened  by  a  clattering  of  hoofs  before  our  house; 
horses  were  stamping  on  the  hard  ground,  and  I 
heard  people  talking  at  our  door.  It  immediately 
occurred  to  me  that  the  Prussians  had  come  to  take 
Madame  Therese,  and  I  hoped  with  all  my  heart 
that  Uncle  Jacob  had  not  slept  as  long  as  I  had. 
Two  minutes  afterward  I  went  downstairs,  and 
found  at  the  entrance  five  or  six  hussars  wrapped 
in  their  cloaks,  great  scabbards  hanging  below  their 
stirrups,  and  swords  in  their  hands.  The  officer,  a 
small,  thin,  fair  man,  with  hollow  cheeks,  promi- 
nent cheek-bones,  and  thick  reddish  moustaches, 
was  seated  on  a  great .  black  horse,  and  Lisbeth, 
broom  in  hand,  was  replying  to  his  questions  with  a 
frightened  air.  Farther  off,  was  a  group  of  people, 
open-mouthed,  pressing  eagerly  forward  to  listen. 
Among  the  foremost,  I  noticed  the  mole-catcher, 
his  hands  in  his  pockets,  and  M.  Richter,  who  was 
gmiling,  half-closing  his  eyes,  and  showing  his 
240 


MADAME   THERESE  241 

teeth  like  a  happy  old  fox.  He  had  come,  no  doubt, 
to  enjoy  my  uncle's  confusion. 

"  So  your  master  and  the  prisoner  went  away  to- 
gether this  morning?  "  said  the  officer. 

"  Yes,  monsieur  le  commandant"  answered  Lis- 
beth. 

"  At  what  hour?  " 

"  Between  five  and  six,  monsieur  le  command- 
ant; it  was  still  dark.  I  fastened  the  lantern  to  the 
pole  of  the  sleigh." 

"  You  had  heard  we  were  coming,  then? "  said 
the  officer,  giving  her  a  piercing  glance. 

Lisbeth  looked  at  the  mole-catcher,  who  came 
out  from  the  circle,  and  answered,  for  her,  with- 
out hesitation : 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  sir,  I  saw  Dr.  Jacob  last 
evening — he's  one  of  my  friends.  This  poor  wom- 
an knows  nothing  about  it.  The  doctor  has  been 
tired  of  the  Frenchwoman  for  a  long  time,  he 
wanted  to  get  rid  of  her,  and  when  he  saw  that  she 
could  bear  the  journey  he  profited  by  the  first  mo- 
ment." 

"  But  why  did  we  not  meet  them  on  the  way?  " 
cried  the  Prussian,  scanning  the  mole-catcher  from 
head  to  foot. 

"  You  must  have  taken  the  valley  road:  the  doc- 


242  MADAME  THERESE 

tor  went,  perhaps,  by  the  way  of  Waldeck  and  the 
mountain.  There's  more  than  one  road  to  Kaisers- 
lautern." 

The  officer,  without  replying,  sprang  from  his 
horse,  entered  our  room,  pushed  open  the  kitchen 
door,  and  pretended  to  look  round;  then  he  came 
out  and  said,  as  he  mounted  his  horse — 

"  Come,  our  work  is  done;  the  rest  doesn't  con- 
cern us." 

He  rode  toward  the  Little  Golden  Pitcher;  his 
men  followed,  and  the  crowd  dispersed,  talking  over 
these  wonderful  occurrences.  Richter  seemed  con- 
fused and  angry,  and  Spick  looked  at  us  askance. 
They  went  up  the  steps  of  the  inn  together,  and 
Scipio,  who  was  on  our  steps,  ran  out,  barking  at 
them  with  all  his  might. 

The  hussars  refreshed  themselves  at  the  Little 
Golden  Pitcher,  then  we  saw  them  pass  our  house 
again  on  the  road  to  Kaiserslautern,  and  after  that 
we  heard  no  more  of  them. 

Lisbeth  and  I  thought  my  uncle  would  return 
at  night,  but  when  that  day  passed,  and  the  next, 
and  the  next,  without  our  even  receiving  a  letter, 
our  anxiety  may  be  imagined.  Scipio  went  up  and 
down  the  house,  and  thrust  his  nose,  from  morning 
till  evening,  in  at  the  bottom  of  the  door,  calling 


MADAME   THERESE 


243 


Madame  Therese,  snuffing,  and  crying  in  a  lament- 
able way.  His  sorrow  infected  us.  A  thousand 
thoughts  of  misfortune  came  into  our  minds.  The 
mole-catcher  came  to  see  us  every  evening,  and 
said: 

"  There's  nothing  to  be  frightened  about.  The 
doctor  wanted  to  protect  Madame  Therese;  he 
couldn't  let  her  go  with  the  prisoners,  that  would 
be  contrary  to  good  sense;  he  has  asked  an  audi- 
ence of  Field  Marshal  Brunswick  to  try  to  induce 
him  to  allow  her  to  enter  the  hospital  of  Kaisers- 
lautern.  All  these  steps  take  time, — be  calm;  he'll 
come  back." 

These  words  would  reassure  us  a  little,  for  the 
mole-catcher  seemed  very  calm.  He  smoked  his 
pipe  by  the  stove,  with  outstretched  legs,  and 
dreamy  face. 

Unfortunately  the  forest-guard,  Rcedig,  who 
lived  in  the  wood  on  the  road  from  Pirmasens, 
where  the  French  then  were,  had  just  brought  a 
report  to  the  mayoralty  of  Anstatt,  and  having 
stopped  a  few  minutes  at  Spick's  inn,  he  said  Uncle 
Jacob  had  passed  his  house  three  days  before,  about 
eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  he  and  Madame 
Therese  had  even  stopped  a  moment  to  warm  them- 
selves and  drink  a  glass  of  wine.  He  said  my  uncle 


244  MADAME  THERESE 

seemed  in  very  good  spirits,  and  had  two  long  cav- 
alry pistols  in  his  overcoat  pockets. 

Then  the  report  spread  that  Uncle  Jacob,  in- 
stead of  going  to  Kaiserslautern,  had  conducted  the 
prisoner  to  the  Republicans,  and  that  caused  great 
scandal.  Richter  and  Spick  declared,  everywhere, 
that  he  deserved  to  be  shot;  that  it  was  an  abom- 
ination, and  his  property  must  be  confiscated.  The 
mole-catcher  and  Koffel  answered  that  the  doctor 
had  no  doubt  lost  his  way  on  account  of  the  great 
snow;  that  he  had  taken  the  mountain  road  to  the 
left  instead  of  turning  to  the  right;  but  everybody 
knew  very  well  that  Uncle  Jacob  was  more  familiar 
with  the  country  than  any  smuggler,  and  the  indig- 
nation increased  daily.  I  could  no  longer  go  out 
without  hearing  my  companions  say  that  Uncle  Ja- 
cob was  a  Jacobin;  and  I  had  to  fight  in  his  de- 
fence, and  despite  Scipio's  assistance,  I  came  home 
more  than  once  with  a  bloody  nose. 

Lisbeth  was  in  despair,  especially  at  the  threats 
of  confiscation. 

"What  a  misfortune!"  said  she,  clasping  her 
hands;  "  what  a  misfortune  to  be  forced,  at  my 
age,  to  take  my  bundle  and  leave  a  house  where 
half  of  my  life  has  been  passed !  " 

It  was  very  sad.  The  mole-catcher  alone  pre- 
served his  tranquillity. 


MADAME   THERESE 


245 


"  You  are  crazy  to  fret  so,"  said  he;  "I  tell  you 
Dr.  Jacob  is  well,  and  that  they  will  confiscate 
nothing.  Keep  yourself  quiet,  eat  well,  sleep  well, 
and  I'll  answer  for  the  rest." 

He  winked  mischievously,  and  always  ended  by 
saying: 

"  My  book  relates  these  things.  Now  they  are 
being  accomplished,  and  all  will  be  well." 

Notwithstanding  these  assurances  things  went 
from  bad  to  worse,  and  the  rabble  of  the  village, 
excited  by  the  scoundrel  Bichter,  were  beginning 
to  shout  under  our  windows,  when  one  fine  morn- 
ing, order  was  suddenly  restored.  Toward  evening 
the  mole-catcher  arrived,  with  a  very  joyous  face, 
and  took  his,  usual  place,  saying  to  Lisbeth,  who 
was  spinning: 

"  "Well,  they  don't  shout  any  more,  they  no  lon- 
ger wish  to  confiscate;  they  keep  very  quiet,  ha! 
ha!  ha!" 

He  said  no  more,  but  in  the  night  we  heard 
many  carriages  passing,  and  men  marching  in 
crowds  through  the  main  street.  It  was  worse  than 
the  arrival  of  the  Republicans,  for  no  one  stopped 
— they  went  on  and  on  always!  I  could  not  sleep, 
for  Scipio  growled  every  minute.  At  daybreak,  I 
looked  out  of  the  window,  and  saw  half  a  score 


246  MADAME  THERESE 

more  of  large  wagons,  full  of  wounded  men,  jolting 
along  in  the  distance.  It  was  the  Prussians.  Then 
came  two  or  three  cannon,  then  a  hundred  hussars, 
cuirassiers,  dragoons,  pell-mell,  in  great  disorder; 
then  dismounted  horsemen,  carrying  their  cloak- 
bags  on  their  shoulders,  and  covered  with  mud. 
They  all  seemed  tired;  but  they  did  not  stop,  nor 
go  into  any  of  the  houses,  but  inarched  as  if  the 
devil  were  at  their  heels. 

The  people,  standing  at  their  doors,  watched 
them  sullenly.  Looking  toward  the  Birkenwald, 
we  could  see  the  files  of  ambulances,  wagons,  cav- 
alry and  infantry,  stretching  beyond  the  forest. 
It  was  Field  Marshal  Brunswick's  army  in  retreat 
after  the  battle  of  Froeschwiller — as  we  learned 
later.  It  had  passed  through  the  village  in  a  single 
night;  that  was  from  the  28th  to  the  29th  of  De- 
cember, if  I  remember  rightly;  it  was  early  in  the 
next  day  that  the  mole-catcher  and  Koffel  arrived 
in  high  spirits;  they  had  a  letter  from  Uncle  Ja- 
tob;  and  the  mole-catcher,  showing  it  to  us,  said: 

"  Ha !  ha !  ha !  this  is  good — this  is  good !  the 
reign  of  justice  and  equality  is  beginning!  Listen 
awhile!" 

He  sat  down  by  the  table,  spreading  out  his  el- 
bows. I  stood  near  him,  and  read  over  his  shoulder, 


,  BATTLE  OF  FBOESCHWILX^ 


MADAME   THERESE  247 

Lisbeth.  was  behind  me,  very  pale,  and  Koffel,  lean- 
ing against  the  cupboard,  smiling  and  stroking  his 
chin.  They  had  already  read  the  letter  two  or  three 
times,  and  the  mole-catcher  knew  it  nearly  by  heart. 
He  read  what  follows,  stopping  sometimes  to  look 
at  us  with  enthusiasm : 

Wi88EMBouBo,  8th  NivosE,  2nd  YEAR     ) 
OF  THE  FRENCH  REPUBLIC. 

**  To  the  Citizens  Mole-catcher^  and  Koffel ;  to  the  Citoyenne 
Lisbeth ;  to  the  little  Citizen  Fritzel,  greeting  and  f rater' 
nity  ! 

"  Citoyenne  Therese  and  I  wish  you  joy,  peace,  and 
prosperity. 

"  You  will  know  by  this  that  we  are  writing  these 
lines  at  Wissembourg  in  the  midst  of  the  triumphs  of 
war.  We  drove  the  Prussians  from  Froeschwiller,  and 
fell  like  a  thunderbolt  on  the  Austrians  at  Geisberg. 
Thus  pride  and  presumption  are  receiving  their  reward. 
When  people  will  not  listen  to  good  reasons,  we  must 
give  them  better  ones;  but  it  is  terrible  to  go  to  such 
extremities;  yes,  it  is  terrible! 

"  My  dear  friends,  for  a  long  time  I  groaned  inwardly 
at  the  blindness  of  those  who  rule  the  dynasties  of  old 
Germany.  I  deplored  their  unjust  spirit,  their  egotism. 
I  asked  myself  if  it  were  not  my  duty  as  an  honest  man 
to  break  away  from  these  arrogant  creatures,  and  adopt 
the  principles  of  justice,  equality,  and  fraternity,  pro- 
claimed by  the  French  Revolution.  This  threw  me  into 
great  trouble,  for  a  man  clings  to  the  ideas  that  he  has 


248  MADAME   THERESE 

received  from  his  ancestors,  and  such  internal  changes 
are  not  made  without  great  suffering-.  Still  I  hesitated, 
but  when  the  Prussians,  contrary  to  the  laws  of  nations, 
claimed  the  unfortunate  prisoner  whom  I  had  saved,  I 
could  bear  it  no  longer.  I  immediately  resolved  to  take 
her  to  Pirmasens,  instead  of  Kaiserslautern — which  I 
have  done  with  the  help  of  God.  At  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  we  came  in  sight  of  the  outposts,  and  as 
Madame  Therese  looked  out,  she  heard  the  drum,  and 
cried:  'These  are  the  French!  Doctor,  you  have  de- 
ceived me!  '  She  threw  herself  into  my  arms,  and  burst 
into  tears,  and  I,  too,  began  to  weep — I  was  so  much 
moved! 

"  All  along  the  route  from  Trois-Maisons  to  the  square 
of  the  Temple-Neuf,  the  soldiers  shouted,  '  Here's  Cito- 
yenne  Therese!  '  They  followed  us,  and  when  we  got  out 
of  the  sleigh,  several  embraced  me  with  true  feeling. 
Others  pressed  my  hands — in  fact  they  overwhelmed  me 
with  honors. 

"  I  will  not  tell  you,  my  dear  friends,  of  the  meeting 
between  Madame  Therese  and  little  Jean;  such  scenes 
cannot  be  described!  All  the  veterans  of  the  battalion, 
even  Colonel  Duchene,  who  is  not  soft-hearted,  turned 
their  heads  to  conceal  their  tears.  It  was  such  a  sight  as 
I  had  never  seen  in  my  life.  Little  Jean  is  a  good  boy; 
he  resembles  my  dear  little  Fritzel  very  much,  so  I  love 
him  dearly. 

"  That  day  extraordinary  events  occurred  at  Pirma- 
sens. The  Republicans  were  encamped  around  the  city. 
General  Hoche  announced  that  they  were  going  into  win- 
ter quarters,  and  ordered  them  to  build  barracks.  But 


MADAME   THERESE  249 

the  soldiers  refused;  they  wanted  to  lodge  in  the  houses. 
Then  the  general  declared  that  those  who  refused  this 
service,  should  not  march  to  battle.  I  was  present  at  this 
proclamation,  which  was  read  to  the  companies,  and  saw 
General  Hoche  forced  to  pardon  the  men,  in  front  of  the 
prince's  palace,  for  they  were  in  the  greatest  despair. 

"  The  general  having  learned  that  a  physician  from 
Anstatt  had  brought  Citoyenne  Therese  back  to  the  first 
battalion  of  the  second  brigade,  I  received  an  order  about 
eight  o'clock  to  go  to  the  Orangery.  Then  I  found  the 
general  standing  near  a  deal  table,  dressed  like  a  simple 
captain,  with  two  other  citizens,  whom  I  was  told,  were 
members  of  the  convention,  Lacoste  and  Baudot,  two 
large,  lank  men,  wljo  looked  at  me  askance.  The  gen- 
eral is  a  dark  man,  with  golden-brown  eyes,  and  hair 
parted  in  the  middle.  He  came  forward  and  looked  at 
me  a  few  seconds.  I,  remembering  that  this  young  man 
commanded  the  army  of  the  Moselle,  felt  troubled;  but 
suddenly  he  extended  his  hand  to  me,  and  said,  '  Doctor 
Wagner,  I  thank  you  for  what  you  have  done  for  Madame 
Therese;  you  are  a  good-hearted  man.' 

"  Then  he  led  me  to  the  table  on  which  a  map  was 
spread  out,  and  made  various  inquiries  about  the  coun- 
try, so  intelligently,  that  one  would  have  thought  he 
knew  more  about  it  than  I.  I  naturally  replied,  the 
others  listening  in  silence.  Finally  he  said:  'Doctor 
Wagner,  I  cannot  propose  to  you  to  serve  in  the  armies 
of  the  Republic;  your  nationality  prevents  that;  but 
the  first  battalion  of  the  second  brigade  has  just  lost  its 
chief  surgeon;  the  service  of  our  ambulances  is  now  in- 
cgmplete;  we  have  only  young  men  to  care  for  the 


250  MADAME   THERESE 

•wounded — I  confide  this  post  of  honor  to  you — humanity 
knows  no  country!  Here  is  your  commission.'  He  wrote 
some  words  at  the  end  of  the  table,  and  then  took  my 
hand  again,  saying:  '  Doctor,  believe  that  I  esteem  you!  ' 
Then  I  went  away. 

"Madame  Therese  awaited  me  outside;  you  can  con- 
ceive her  joy,  when  she  heard  that  I  was  to  have  charge 
of  the  ambulance  department  of  the  battalion. 

"  We  expected  to  remain  at  Pirmasens  until  spring, 
and  the  barracks  were  being  built,  when  on  the  next 
night  but  one,  about  ten  o'clock,  we  suddenly  received 
orders  to  march,  without  putting  out  the  fires,  without 
making  any  noise,  without  beating  the  drums  or  sound- 
ing the  trumpet.  All  Pirmasens  was  asleep.  I  had  two 
horses,  riding  one,  and  leading  the  other,  and  was  in  the 
midst  of  officers  near  Colonel  Duchene. 

"  We  left,  some  on  horseback,  others  on  foot,  cannon, 
•wagons,  ambulances  in  our  midst,  flanked  by  the  cavalry, 
with  no  moon  or  anything  to  guide  us.  Only  from  time 
to  time  a  horseman  would  cry  at  the  turning  of  the  road 
4  This  way! — this  way!  '  Toward  eleven  the  moon  came 
out;  we  were  in  the  midst  of  the  mountains;  all  the 
peaks  were  white  with  snow.  The  foot  soldiers,  with 
their  guns  on  their  shoulders,  ran  to  warm  themselves. 
Two  or  three  times  I  was  obliged  to  dismount,  I  was  so 
benumbed.  Madame  Therese,  in  her  cart,  covered  with 
gray  cloth,  handed  me  the  bottle,  and  the  captains  were 
always  on  hand  to  receive  it  after  me;  more  than  one 
soldier,  also,  had  his  turn. 

"  But  we  went  on,  on,  without  stopping,  so  that  about 
six  o'clock,  when  the  pale  sun  began  to  brighten  the  sky, 


MADAME   THERESE  251 

we  had  reached  Lembach,  under  the  great  wooded  de- 
clivity of  Steinfelz,  three  quarters  of  a  league  from 
Wcerth.  Then  was  heard  on  all  sides,  the  command, 
'Halt!  halt!  '  Those  in  the  rear  were  constantly  com- 
ing; at  half-past  six  all  the  army  was  reunited  in  a  val- 
ley, and  set  to  work  to  make  soup. 

"  General  Hoche,  whom  I  saw  pass  with  his  two  tall 
members  of  the  Convention,  was  laughing;  he  seemed  in 
a  good  humor.  He  went  into  the  last  house  in  the  vil- 
lage. The  people  were  as  astonished  to  see  us  at  that 
hour,  as  those  in  Anstatt  were  at  the  arrival  of  the  Re- 
publicans. The  houses  here  are  so  small  and  miserable, 
that  it  was  necessary  to  take  two  tables  out  of  doors,  and 
the  general  held  his  council  with  the  officers  in  the  open 
air,  while  the  troops  cooked  the  provisions  they  had 
brought.  This  halt  lasted  only  long  enough  for  us  to 
eat,  and  buckle  on  our  knapsacks  again.  Then  we  re- 
sumed our  march  in  better  order.  At  eight  o'clock,  on 
coming  out  of  the  valley  of  Reiehshofen,  we  saw  the 
Prussians  intrenched  on  the  heights  of  Froeschwiller 
and  Woerth.  They  were  more  than  twenty  thousand 
strong,  and  their  redoubts  rose  one  above  the  other. 

"  All  our  army  understood  that  we  had  marched  so 
quickly  in  order  to  surprise  the  Prussians  alone,  for  the 
Austrians  were  four  or  five  leagues  from  there,  on  the 
line  of  the  Motter.  But  I  cannot  conceal  from  you,  my 
dear  friends,  that  this  sight  gave  me,  at  first,  a  terrible 
shock.  The  more  I  saw,  the  more  impossible  it  seemed 
to  me  that  we  should  gain  the  battle.  In  the  first  place, 
they  were  more  numerous  than  we;  then  they  had  dug 
ditches  intrenched  with  palisades,  and  behind  them  one 


252  MADAME  THERESE 

could  easily  see  the  gunners,  who  were  leaning  ovei 
their  cannon  and  watching  us,  while  files  of  innumerable 
bayonets  stretched  clear  up  the  side  of  the  hill. 

"  The  French,  with  their  careless  natures,  saw  noth- 
ing of  this,  and  even  seemed  very  joyous.  The  report 
was  spread  that  General  Hoche  had  just  promised  six 
hundred  francs  for  every  piece  taken  from  the  enemy; 
they  were  laughing,  putting  their  hats  on  one  side, 
looking  at  the  cannons,  and  shouting — '  Going!  Gone!  ' 
It  made  one  shiver  to  see  such  indifference,  and  hear 
these  pleasantries.  The  rest  of  us,  the  ambulances,  the 
vehicles  of  all  sorts,  the  empty  wagons  for  transporting 
the  wounded,  remained  in  the  rear;  and  to  tell  the  truth, 
that  gave  me  real  pleasure.  Madame  Therese  was  thirty 
or  forty  steps  in  advance  of  me;  I  placed  myself  near 
her  with  my  two  aids,  one  of  whom  had  been  an  apothe- 
cary boy  at  Landrecies,  and  the  other  a  dentist;  they 
made  themselves  surgeons.  But  they  already  have  much 
experience,  and  with  a  little  leisure  and  pains,  these 
young  men  will  perhaps  become  something.  Madame 
Therese  then  kissed  little  Jean,  who  was  running  to  join 
the  battalion.  The  whole  valley,  right  and  left,  was 
filled  with  cavalry  in  good  order.  General  Hoche,  on  his 
arrival,  at  once  placed  two  batteries  on  the  hills  of 
Reichshofen,  and  the  infantry  halted  in  the  middle  of 
the  valley.  There  was  another  consultation,  then  all  the 
infantry  ranged  themselves  in  three  columns;  one 
passed  on  the  left  into  the  gorge  of  Reebach,  the  other 
two  marched  on  the  intrenchments,  with  bayonets  fixed. 
General  Hoche,  with  some  officers,  stationed  himself  on 
a  little  elevation  to  the  left  of  the  valley. 


MADAME   THERESE  253 

"  What  followed,  my  dear  friends,  seems  to  me  like  a 
dream.  At  the  moment  when  the  columns  reached  the 
foot  of  the  hill,  a  horrible  crash,  a  kind  of  frightful  tear- 
ing sound  was  heard;  everything  was  covered  with 
smoke;  the  Prussians  had  just  discharged  their  can- 
non. A  second  afterward,  as  the  smoke  cleared  away  a 
little,  we  saw  the  French  higher  up  the  slope;  they  were 
slackening  their  speed,  numbers  of  wounded  were  left 
behind,  some  stretched  on  their  faces,  others  seated,  and 
trying  to  rise. 

"The  Prussians  fired  the  second  time; — then  was 
heard  the  terrible  cry  of  the  ^Republicans,  '  To  the  bayo- 
net! '  And  all  the  mountain  sparkled  like  firebrands 
when  one  stirs  them  up  with  his  foot.  We  saw  no  more, 
because  the  wind  blew  the  smoke  toward  us,  nor  could 
we  hear  a  word  at  four  feet  distance,  so  loud  was  the 
firing — men  and  cannon  thundering  and  roaring  to- 
gether. 

"  Our  cavalry  horses  on  the  hills  neighed,  and  tried  to 
rush  into  the  fight.  These  animals  are  truly  savage; 
they  love  danger;  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that  they 
could  be  restrained.  Occasionally  there  was  an  opening 
in  the  smoke,  and  we  could  see  the  Kepublicans  climb- 
ing the  palisades  like  ants  upon  an  ant-hill;  some  with 
the  butt-end  of  their  guns  trying  to  break  down  the  in- 
trenchments,  others  seeking  a  passage;  the  colonels  on 
horseback,  their  swords  upraised,  urged  on  their  men, 
and  on  the  other  side  the  Prussians  thrust  forward  their 
bayonets,  and  fired  their  guns  into  the  heap  of  bodies, 
or  raised  their  great  cannon-rammers  like  clubs  to  beat 
down  the  men.  It  was  frightful!  A  moment  after,  an- 


254  MADAME   THERESE 

other  gust  of  wind  covered  everything-  with  smoke,  and 
none  could  know  how  the  struggle  would  end. 

"  General  Hoche  sent  his  officers,  one  after  another,  to 
take  new  orders;  they  rushed  through  the  smoke  like 
the  wind;  one  would  have  thought  them  shadows.  But 
the  battle  continued,  and  the  Republicans  were  begin- 
ning1 to  recoil,  when  the  general  himself  came  down  at 
full  gallop.  Ten  minutes  afterward  the  song  of  the 
Marseillaise  rose  above  all  the  tumult,  and  those  who  had 
retreated,  returned  to  the  charge.  The  second  attack 
began  more  furiously  than  the  first.  The  cannon  alone 
still  thundered,  and  struck  down  files  of  men.  All  the 
Eepublicans  advanced  en  masse,  Hoche  in  their  midst. 
Our  batteries,  too,  fired  on  the  Prussians.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  describe  what  happened  when  the  French  were 
once  near  the  palisades.  If  Father  Adam  Schmitt  had 
been  with  us  he  would  have  seen  what  may  be  called  a 
terrible  battle.  The  Prussians  showed  themselves  sol- 
diers of  the  great  Frederick;  bayonets  against  bayonets, 
— sometimes  one  party,  sometimes  the  other  was  driven 
back,  or  rushed  forward. 

"  But  what  decided  the  victory  for  the  Republicans, 
was  the  arrival  of  their  third  column  on  the  heights,  on 
the  left  of  the  intrenchments.  It  had  turned  the  Ree- 
bach,  and  came  out  from  the  forest  double  quick.  Then 
the  Prussians  were  obliged  to  give  up  the  struggle;  at- 
tacked on  both  sides  they  retreated,  leaving  eighteen 
pieces  of  cannon,  twenty-four  wagons,  and  their  in- 
trenchments filled  with  the  dead  and  wounded.  They 
•went  toward  Woerth,  and  our  hussars,  beside  themselves 
with  impatience,  started  at  last,  bending  forward  on 


MADAME   THERESE  255 

their  saddles.  We  learned  that  night  that  they  had 
taken  twelve  hundred  prisoners,  and  six  pieces  of  can- 
non. 

"  This,  nay  dear  friends,  was  the  battle  of  Woerth  and 
Froeschwiller,  the  news  of  which  must  have  reached  you 
already.  It  will  ever  remain  present  to  my  mind.  Since 
that,  I  have  seen  nothing  new.  But  what  work  we  have 
had!  We  have  had  to  amputate,  to  extract  balls;  our 
ambulances  are  loaded  with  the  wounded.  It  is  very 
sad. 

"  Nevertheless,  the  day  after  the  battle,  the  army 
moved  forward.  Four  days  afterward  we  were  told  that 
the  members  Lacoste  and  Baudot,  being  convinced  that 
the  rivalry  between  Hoche  and  Pichegru  was  injurious 
to  the  interests  of  the  Republic,  had  given  the  command 
entirely  to  Hoche,  and  that  he,  finding  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  armies  of  the  Rhine  and  Moselle,  without 
losing  a  moment,  had  profited  by  it  to  attack  Wurmser 
on  the  road  to  Wissembourg,  and  that  we  had  com- 
pletely routed  him  at  Geisberg,  so  that  now  the  Prus- 
sians are  retreating  to  Mayence,  the  Austrians  to  Gemer- 
sheim,  and  the  territory  of  the  Republic  is  relieved  of  all 
its  enemies. 

"  As  for  me,  I  am  now  at  Wissembourg  overwhelmed 
with  work;  Madame  Therese  and  little  Jean,  and  the 
remnant  of  the  first  battalion,  occupy  the  place,  and  the 
army  is  on  the  march  to  Landau,  the  happy  deliverance 
of  which  will  be  the  admiration  of  future  ages.  Soon, 
soon,  dear  friends,  we  will  follow  the  army,  we  will  pass 
through  Anstatt,  crowned  with  the  palms  of  victory. 
We  shall  again  press  you  to  our  heart*,  and  celebrate 


256  MADAME   THERESE 

with,  you  the  triumph  of  justice  and  liberty.  Oh  dear 
liberty!  rekindle  in  our  souls  the  sacred  fire  which 
formerly  burned  in  the  breasts  of  so  many  heroes.  Cre- 
ate among1  us  generations  which,  may  resemble  them, 
that  the  heart  of  every  citizen  may  leap  at  thy  voice. 
Inspire  the  wise  who  plan;  lead  the  courageous  to  heroic 
actions;  animate  the  soldiers  with  a  sublime  enthusi- 
asm ;  may  despots  who  divide  nations  for  the  sake  of  op- 
pressing- them,  disappear  from  the  world,  and  may  the 
sacred  bond  of  brotherhood  reunite  all  the  peoples  of 
the  earth  in  one  family! 

"  With  these  wishes,  and  these  hopes,  the  good  Madame 
Therese,  little  Jean  and  I,  embrace  you  with  all  our 
hearts.  JACOB  WAGNEK. 

"  P.  S. — Little  Jean  begs  his  friend  Fritzel  to  take  good 
care  of  Scipio." 

Uncle  Jacob's  letter  filled  us  all  with  joy,  and 
after  that  you  may  imagine  with  what  impatience 
we  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  first  battalion.  This 
epoch  of  my  life,  when  I  think  of  it,  seems  to  me 
like  a  fete;  every  day  we  learned  something  new; 
after  the  occupation  of  Wissembourg  came  the 
raising  of  the  siege  of  Landau,  then  the  capture  of 
Lauterbo-.irc^  then  that  of  Kaiserslautern,  and  the 
occupation  of  Spire,  where  the  French  collected 
great  spoils,  which  Hoche  caused  to  be  carried  to 
Landau  to  indemnify  the.  inhabitants  for  their 
losses. 


MADAME  THERESE  257 

The  people  of  the  village  now  held  us  in  respect 
as  much  as  they  had  formerly  abused  us.  It  was 
even  a  question  with  them  whether  they  should  not 
put  Koffel  in  the  town  council,  and  appoint  the 
mole-catcher  burgomaster — no  one  knew  why;  for 
nobody  had  such  an  idea  until  then.  But  the  re- 
port was  spread  that  we  were  going  to  become 
Frenchmen  again;  we  had  been  French  fifteen 
hundred  years  before,  and  it  was  abominable  that 
we  had  so  long  allowed  ourselves  to  be  held  in 
slavery.  Richter  had  taken  flight,  knowing  very 
well  what  he  might  expect,  and  Spick  no  longer  left 
his  house.  Every  day  the  people  on  the  main  street 
looked  toward  the  mountain  to  watch  for  the  true 
defenders  of  their  country.  Unfortunately  the 
greater  part  of  the  army  had  taken  the  road  from 
Wissembourg  to  Mayence,  leaving  Anstatt  on  their 
left  in  the  mountains.  We  saw  stragglers  pass  who 
were  taking  the  short  road  through  the  Burgerwald. 
We  were  much  troubled,  and  were  beginning  to 
think  that  our  battalion  would  never  come,  when 
one  day  the  mole-catcher  rushed  in,  breathless,  cry- 
ing: 

"  Here  they  are !    Here  they  are !  " 

He  was  returning  from  the  fields  with  his  spade 
on  his  shoulder,  and  had  seen  a  troop  of  soldiers 
17 


258  MADAME  THERESE 

in  the  distance.  The  whole  village  had  already 
heard  the  news,  and  came  into  the  street.  I,  be- 
side myself  with  enthusiasm,  ran  to  meet  the  bat- 
talion, with  Hans  Aden  and  Frantz  Sepel,  whom  1 
met  on  the  road.  The  sun  was  shining,  the  snow 
was  melting,  the  mud  splashed  round  us  like  grape- 
shot,  but  we  did  not  mind  it,  and  ran  for  half  an 
hour  without  stopping.  Half  the  village,  men, 
women,  and  children,  followed  us,  shouting: 
"  They're  coming!  They're  coming!  " 
People's  ideas  changed  in  a  singular  manner, — 
everybody  was  then  a  friend  to  the  Republic.  Once 
on  the  side  of  the  Birkenwald,  Hans,  Frantz,  and  I 
at  last  saw  our  battalion  marching  up  the  declivity, 
their  knapsacks  on  their  backs,  their  guns  on  their 
shoulders,  the  officers  behind  their  companies. 
Farther  off  the  wagons  were  defiling  over  the  great 
bridge.  They  all  came  on,  whistling,  talking,  as 
soldiers  do  on  the  march.  One  stopped  to  light  his 
pipe,  another  gave  a  shrug  of  his  shoulder  to  raise 
his  knapsack.  We  could  hear  gay  voices  and  shouts 
«£  laughter,  for  the  French  when  they  march  al- 
ways tell  stories  and  make  funny  speeches,  to  keep 
up  their  spirits. 

In  this  crowd  my  eyes  sought  only  Uncle  Jacob 
and  Madame  Therese.    It  was  some  time  before  1 


MADAME  THE"RESE  259 

discovered  them,  in  the  rear  of  the  battalion.  My 
uncle  was  riding  Rappel.  I  hardly  recognized  him 
at  first,  for  he  wore  a  large  Republican  hat,  a  coat 
with  red  lapels,  and  a  great  sword  in  an  iron  scab- 
bard. This  costume  changed  him  wonderfully,  and 
made  him  seem  much  taller;  but  I  knew  him,  not- 
withstanding, and  Madame  Therese  also,  in  her  cart 
covered  with  cloth,  in  the  same  hat  and  cravat  in 
which  I  first  saw  her.  She  had  rosy  cheeks  and 
sparkling  eyes.  My  uncle  rode  near  her,  and  they 
were  talking  together.  I  recognized  little  Jean, 
also,  whom  I  had  seen  only  once.  He  was  march- 
ing; a  large  belt  adorned  with  drum-sticks  crossed 
his  breast,  his  arms  were  covered  with  lace,  and  his 
sword  dangled  behind.  And  the  Colonel,  Sergeant 
Lafleche,  and  the  captain  to  whom  I  had  shown  the 
way  into  our  garret,  and  all  the  soldiers, — yes, 
nearly  all, — I  recognised;  they  seemed  to  me  to  be 
one  great  family.  It  gave  me  pleasure  to  see  the 
flag  covered  with  oil-cloth,  too.  I  ran  through  the 
crowd.  Hans  Aden  and  Frantz  Sepel  had  already 
found  comrades, — but  I  ran  on,  and  as  I  came  near 
the  cart,  was  going  to  say,  "  Uncle !  Uncle !  "  when 
Madame  Therese,  happening  to  bend  forward,  ex 
claimed,  joyfully: 
"  Here's  Scipiol  * 


26o  MADAME  THERESE 

And  at  that  moment,  Scipio,  whom  I  had  for- 
gotten and  left  at  home,  sprang  into  the  cart,  all 
bewildered  and  muddy.  Little  Jean  immediately 
cried: 

"  Scipio!  " 

And  the  good  dog,  after  passing  his  great  mous- 
tache two  or  three  times  over  Madame  Therese's 
face,  sprang  to  the  ground  and  began  to  leap  about 
Jean,  barking,  uttering  cries,  and  acting  as  if  he 
were  wild  with  delight.  All  the  battalion  called : 

"Here,  Scipio!    Scipio!" 

My  uncle  had  just  seen  me,  and  held  out  his 
arms  to  me  from  his  horse.  I  seized  his  leg;  he 
raised  and  kissed  me.  I  saw  that  he  was  weeping, 
and  that  made  me  cry.  He  held  me  toward  Ma- 
dame Therese,  who  took  me  in  her  cart,  saying: 

"  Good-day,  Fritzel." 

She  seemed  very  happy,  and  kissed  me  with 
tears  in  her  eyes. 

Very  soon  the  mole-catcher  and  Koffel  came  up 
and  grasped  my  uncle's  hand;  then  other  people 
from  the  village,  mixing,  pell-mell,  with  the  sol- 
diers, who  gave  the  men  their  knapsacks  and  guns 
to  carry  in  triumph,  and  cried  to  the  women — 

"  Hey,  good  mother  with  your  pretty  daughterl 
this  way — this  way!  " 


LAST  i  SAW  UNCLE;  us  WAS  MOLNTSU  ON 


MADAME  THERESE  261 

There  was  great  confusion;  everybody  frater- 
nized, and  in  the  midst  of  all,  little  Jean  and  I 
knew  not  which  was  the  happiest. 

"  Kiss  little  Jean,"  cried  Uncle  Jacob. 

"  Kiss  Fritzel,"  said  Madame  Therese. 

And  we  embraced,  looking  at  each  other  in  be- 
wildered delight. 

"  II  me  plait"  cried  little  Jean,  "  il  a  I'air  bon 
enfant." 

"  Toi,  tu  me  plais  aussi"  said  I,  very  proud  of 
speaking  French. 

And  we  walked  along  arm-in-arm,  while  Uncle 
Jacob  and  Madame  Therese  looked  at  each  other 
and  smiled. 

The  Colonel,  also,  gave  me  his  hand,  saying: 

"Ha!  Dr.  Wagner,  here's  your  defender. 
You're  quite  well,  my  brave  fellow? " 

"  Yes,  Colonel." 

"  So  much  the  better!  " 

In  this  manner  we  reached  the  first  houses  of 
the  village.  Then  we  stopped  a  few  minutes  to  get 
in  order.  Little  Jean  hung  his  drum  over  his 
shoulder,  and  as  the  commander  cried  "  Forward ! 
March!  "  the  drums  sounded. 

We  marched  down  the  main  street  in  regular 
order,  delighted  at  making  so  imposing  an  entrance. 


262  MADAME  THERESE 

All  the  old  men  and  women  who  could  not  get  out, 
were  at  their  windows,  and  pointed  to  Uncle  Jacob, 
who  advanced  with  a  dignified  air  behind  the  Col- 
onel, between  his  two  assistants.  I  noticed  Father 
Schmitt  particularly,  standing  at  his  door;  he 
straightened  up  his  tall,  bent  figure,  and  watched 
us  filing  past,  with  sparkling  eyes. 

At  the  square  with  the  fountain  the  Colonel 
cried: 

"  Halt!  " 

They  stacked  their  guns,  and  all  dispersed,  right 
and  left.  Each  citizen  wished  to  have  a  soldier;  all 
wanted  to  rejoice  in  the  triumph  of  the  Republic, 
"  one  and  indivisible."  But  these  Frenchmen,  with 
their  cheerful  faces,  preferred  to  follow  the  pretty 
girls.  The  Colonel  went  with  us.  Old  Lisbeth  was 
already  at  the  door,  her  hands  raised  to  heaven,  and 
cried: 

"Ah  Madame  Therese! — ah  monsieur  le  doc- 
teur!" 

There  were  fresh  cries  of  joy,  fresh  embraces. 

Then  we  went  in,  and  the  feast  of  ham,  chit- 
terlings, and  broiled  meat,  with  white  wine  and 
old  Burgundy  to  drink,  began;  Koffel,  the  mole- 
catcher,  the  Colonel,  little  Jean  and  I, — I  leave 
you  to  imagine  the  table,  the  appetites,  the  satis- 
faction 1 


MADAME  THERESE  263 

All  that  day  the  first  battalion  remained  with 
us;  then  they  were  obliged  to  pursue  their  march, 
for  their  winter  quarters  were  at  Hacmatt,  two 
short  leagues  from  Anstatt.  My  uncle  stayed  in 
the  village.  He  laid  aside  his  great  sword  and  large 
hat;  but  from  that  time  until  spring  not  a  day 
passed  that  he  did  not  go  to  Hacmatt;  he  thought 
of  nothing  but  Hacmatt. 

Madame  Therese  came  to  see  us  occasionally 
with  little  Jean.  "We  laughed,  we  were  happy  and 
we  loved  each  other! 

"What  more  shall  I  say?  In  the  spring,  when 
the  lark  began  to  sing,  we  heard  one  day  that  the 
first  battalion  was  going  to  leave  for  La  Vendee. 
Then  my  uncle,  very  pale,  ran  to  the  stable,  and 
mounted  Rappel;  he  rode  off  at  full  speed,  bare- 
headed, having  forgotten  to  put  on  his  cap. 

"What  passed  at  Hacmatt?  I  know  nothing  about 
it.  But  what  I  am  sure  of  is  that  the  next  day  my 
uncle  returned,  as  proud  as  a  king,  with  Madame 
Therese  and  little  Jean;  that  there  was  a  great 
feast  at  our  house,  kisses  and  rejoicing. 

Eight  days  afterward  Colonel  Duchene  arrived 
with  all  the  captains  of  the  battalion.  That  day 
there  were  still  greater  rejoicings.  Madame 
Therese  and  Uncle  Jacob  went  to  the  mayoralty, 


264  MADAME  THERESE 

followed  by  a  long  procession  of  joyous  guests.  The 
mole-catcher,  who  had  been  chosen  burgomaster 
by  popular  vote,  awaited  us  in  his  tri-colored  scarf. 
He  entered  my  uncle's  and  Madame  Therese's 
names  in  a  thick  register,  to  everybody's  satisfac- 
tion. And  from  that  time  little  Jean  had  a  father, 
and  I  had  a  good  mother,  whose  memory  I  cannot 
recall  without  shedding  tears. 

There  are  many  more  things  I  should  like  to  tell 
you — but  this  is  enough  for  one  time.  If  the  good 
God  permits,  we  will  one  day  continue  this  story, 
which  ends, — like  all  others, — with  white  hairs, 
and  the  last  adieus  of  those  whom  we  love  best  in 
the  world. 


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